The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, has praised Nigerian workers for their patriotism, devotion to nation-building, and perseverance as they observe the 2023 Workers’ Day on May 1.
Lawan said in a statement on Sunday that the workers helped identify answers to problems and supported the government’s efforts to address the needs of the people.
He said, “This consistent patriotic stance of the Nigerian workers has enhanced peace and industrial harmony and provided a conducive environment for economic growth and development in the country.”
“The dictum that ‘Labour creates wealth’ remains valid today as it has ever been. It is in the realization of this that government must always pay serious attention to labour related matters.
“It is with this understanding that the ninth National Assembly has guarded itself against the introduction of any anti-labour legislation since its inception in 2019. We are happy that this stance has also helped in sustaining industrial peace in the country.”
Being the last May Day for the 9th National Assembly, the Senate President further highlighted some of the relevant achievements of the Assembly as it concerns workers.
“By 2019 when the ninth Assembly was inaugurated, the nation’s financial year or budget cycle had become notorious for being unreliable and uncertain. To redress that situation, the Assembly in collaboration with the Executive Arm of
“Government, promptly reset the financial year to run from January to December. This has since then been sustained, resulting in significant improvement in budget performance.
“Also, we successfully passed many critical bills that had become jinxed under the previous Assemblies, as we did to some other extant legislations that are critical to good governance and service delivery in the public sector.
“Such critical Legislations include: Deep Off-shore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contracts (Amendment) Act, 2019; Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020; Police Act 2020, Petroleum Industry Act 2021; Electoral Act 2022 and many more.
“A special mention must be made of the 16 constitutional amendment Bills, for the fifth alterations of the 1999 Constitution, which President Muhammadu Buhari signed into law in March this year.
“Recognising that Nigeria yet has many challenges to contend with, I urge the Labour movement to continue to sustain this atmosphere of industrial peace and harmony under the new administration of President-elect Ahmed Bola Tinubu that will be inaugurated on 29th May, 2023,” Lawan said.