The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila has advised the federal government to adhere to commitment made to organised labour and Nigerians by the executive arm of government during the intervention to prevent the planned strike action by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) which was scheduled to commenced on September 28, 2020.
Gabjabiamila, while delivering his special address to the House on Tuesday, said that the commitments must be adhered to as a matter of good conscience, and to the extent that doing so does not cause them to deviate from ongoing efforts to achieve essential and long-overdue reforms to our economy.
The speaker explained that the reforms of the oil and gas sector and the electricity and power sector that keep the heavy hand of government from undermining the proper operation of free markets must be encouraged.
According to Gbajabiamila, in the time the members have been away from plenary, the Committees of the House have been engaging with stakeholders to achieve progress on several priority initiatives, that members have been meeting to work out strategies and develop plans for legislative action to address the many challenges of governance that Nigerians continue to face in the country.
“Over this past weekend, the leadership of the House of Representatives with Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo and other senior members of the executive arm of government acted to prevent the planned strike action by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).
“This intervention was necessary to forestall the possibility of an industrial action that disrupts the lives of Nigerians and further weakens an already troubled economy. We recognise that some of these reforms will increase the living costs for many at a time when people are struggling to cover the costs of daily life.
“We will work with the Executive to develop and implement measures to support people that need help and ensure that the most vulnerable among us can get through this interregnum with dignity. Even more importantly, the House will exercise our oversight authority to hold people’s feet to the fire and deliver outcomes that are worthy of the sacrifices we are asking of the Nigerian people,” he said.
Gbajabiamila who also made reference to the Police Reform Act signed into law by President Buhari, said that the Act is the first significant reform effort in a generation, that it is the beginning and not the end of such measures, saying that the Nigeria Police Force, as it currently operates, has too long and too often failed to meet the expectations of the Nigerian people.
“In the same vein, we have begun, and we will expedite work on the Armed Forces Trust Fund Bill so that in the shortest possible time, we can finalise and pass legislation that ensures once and for all that the resources we need to protect the homeland are never at the mercy of politics or changes in policy or personnel.
“The House has received and will shorty begin consideration of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) as part of our efforts to achieve wholesale reform of the oil and gas sector in Nigeria. This is not the first time that we have initiated the Petroleum Industry Bill or similar efforts at broad oil and gas sector reform in the National Assembly. I assure all Nigerians that we in the 9th House of Representatives fully intend to succeed this time around.
“However, I must appeal to stakeholders in the public and private sector, to the media, to the host communities and all who wish our country well to support this process. Let us reject cynicism and resist all attempts to frustrate this reform effort in service of the narrow interests of any particular group. Let us put Nigeria first so that history may judge us kindly,” he said.
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