Resolution of Minimum Wage Palava: Disappointed Abia opposition suffers huge nightmare

By Ogbonnaya Ikokwu On Nov 1, 2024

By Eagle Okoro

Gov. Alex Otti of Abia was exectally 17 months old in office on Tuesday, October 29, 2024. Within the period, his government has initiated landmark policies, programmes and projects that have substantially helped to positively change the development narratives of the state.

And, without exaggeration, he has done pretty well on infrastructure in with his vision to transform the landscape of the state, with greater bias for Umuahia, the state capital, and the commercial city of Aba. Even the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) acknowledges this fact.

However, for PDP, the issue of the minimum wage provided an opportunity to hit at the government and the man on the driver’s seat. The arrowheads of the opposition had a field day on radio and social media castigating the governor.

They tried to pitch the organised labour, especially the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), against Gov. Otti and Labour Party-led government. And pursuant to their sinister intentions, they quickly branded him an “anti-worker governor”.

Unfortunately for the former Commissioner for Information, Chief John Okiyi Kalu, alias Nwandugbom, and his co-travellers,
the events of Tuesday, October 29, ended their wicked conspiracy to fuel and hype an industrial dispute in the state over negotiations for the minimum wage.

========SATIRE==========

But against the plot and imagination of the opposition, the governor used the opportunity to once more shine and demonstrate his deep-seated hatred and disrespect for the highly ill-disciplined and unproductive civil servants in the state.

And, as many would rightly or wrongly conjecture, Otti, as a vindictive governor, saw the negotiation for the new minimum wage as a pay back time – a period to pay the greedy, practically insatiable workers in their own coin.

Yes, the governor cannot easily forget how the Abia workers betrayed his trust and voted massively for the PDP flag bearer, Chief Okey Ahiwe, in the 2023 Governorship Election.

It was for such enormous betrayal that he devoted the early days of his taking office to work out a strategy to permanently resolve the protracted issues of irregular payment of workers’ salary. And today, the ungrateful workers have their salary alerts hit their phones on the 28th of every new month. This could only be made possible by an anti-worker governor, like Otti, a shrewd banker-cum-economist!

And as a governor, who had no iota of respect for Abia workers, he has chosen this auspicious moment to have a pound of flesh on the workers becauae of their wicked and unconscionable role in his massive electoral victory during the governorship poll, where they showed an unquantifiable love and genuine preference for their beloved worker-friendly, salary-paying, development-driven former Gov. Okezie Victor Ikpeazu and his PDP against a man that was desperate to become governor in order to liberate them.

And who told Otti that Abia workers were complaining of enslavement and needing liberation?

Indeed, the governor has proved the opposition right for labelling him insensitive to the welfare and wellbeing of the workers, when again JOK Nwandugbom uncovered how he surreptitiously encouraged a rancourous negotiation between his mindless officials and the Ogbonnaya Okoro-led organised labour and, again, coerced and blindfolded the representatives of labour to append their signatures to the N70,000 Minimum Wage and Consequential Adjustment documents against their will and on gunpoint by his stern-looking aides.

========LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL================
As the saying goes, “All’s well that ends well”. It was heart-warming to see both parties shake hands and embrace one another at the end of the momentous signing of the Minimum Wage Agreement. The governor, represented by his Chief if Staff, Pastor Caleb Ajagba, and Abia helmsman of NLC, Okoro, also spoke glowingly about brighter prospects for a more robust labour-government relationship, going forward.

======THE NIGHTMARE=====

Expectedly, the convivial atmosphere and friendly ambience as well as the spirit of give and take that pervaded the negotiation table, leading to the landmark signing of the mutually-binding agreement, unsettled and shocked the nay sayers in Abia.

In the middle of the negotiation came a threat by labour to embark on a warning strike to force the State Government to expedite the process of the negotiation. However, the planned strike, which was already being celebrated by the opposition, was averted by the positive outcome of one of the most friendly negotiations for minimum wage in the history of Abia.

Indeed, the positive outcome inflicted the opposition war mongers with profound psychological defeat and disappointment.

The opposition has once again kissed the dust in absolute shame. Their satanic prophecy for a breakdown of the negotiation and an inevitable labour-government showdown in Abia became voided and absolute peace prevailed.

Thus, beyond their imagination, the prevailing peace and tranquillity in the state, necessary for the governor to continue to deliver on his development agenda without unnecessary distractions, spelled another huge nightmare for the opposition PDP. To God be the glory!

– Eagle Okoro is a Public Affairs analyst and writes from Umuahia