Mallam Sanusi had on Tuesday called on the Federal Government to halve its workforce in order to save the economy from the brink of collapse, as the nation’s resources were not for the workers alone, but for the entire 167 million Nigerians.
In a rejoinder signed by its president, Mr Abdulwaheed Omar, NLC said the major economic burden for the country were corruption and lack of good governance and not the workers who are the driving force of the economy and on whose shoulders the task of creation of wealth for the nation rested.
According to the statement, the CBN governor has only advertised his shallow knowledge of economics by his sack recommendation because it is workers who sweat to create the wealth that politicians suck dry.
The labour union said the CBN governor was not fit for the position and should not be saddled with the responsibility of formulating policies for national development.
“It is obvious Sanusi was never qualified for the office of the CBN governor in the first instance, and he must be asked to leave the office as he has shown more than enough incompetence and contempt for the Nigerian people.
“Sanusi’s only understanding of governance is simply about saving money and not saving lives as his proposals are repeatedly devoid of human content and without consideration for the implications on larger society.
“The burden that will come with mass sack as high as 50 per cent of civil servants, in addition to the already saturated unemployment market can better be imagined. Governance is about improving the quality of the lives of the people and not destruction of productive lives.
“Today, there are countless probe reports with names of those who swindled our country of several trillions of both naira and foreign currencies still living in Nigeria either walking freely around the corridors of power or directly holding public or political offices rather than being in jail.
“The truth, which Sanusi is running away from, is that corruption has become a real burden on the economy and it should be the only priority item on the table of any serious government. Even if you sack all the workers in Nigeria, any amount saved from that will be stolen and the culprit will walk in freedom.
“To show how unknowledgeable he is as a public office holder, Sanusi also called for the scrapping of local governments in Nigeria, a country that runs a federal system, no matter how inefficient the system is.
“Local government is an important tier of government in a federal system and what we need is to strengthen the system to enable it to deliver good governance to the people as it is the closest to the grass roots and rather than removing the tier as proposed by Mallam Sanusi, the local governments require more funding to enable them to function properly as required under a federal system,” the statement said.
Also, the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) on Wednesday criticised the call by Mallam Sanusi on the Federal Government to sack 50 per cent of its employees.
TUC criticises Sanusi
TUC president Peter Esele told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that Sanusi lacked the capacity to call for the action.
He stressed that a civil servant earned less than a dollar a day, while about 170 per cent of the country’s budget was being spent on those in government.
Esele said that the governor should rather go to the National Assembly and challenge legislators’ spending and not the civil servants.
“I think that the CBN governor is being economical with the truth. He knows those who are spending Nigeria’s money.
Civil servants, RATTAWU ask Sanusi to resign
Similarly, the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria has advised Sanusi to tender his resignation letter to buttress his call for the sack of 50 per cent of the country’s work force.
The national president of the association, Mr Olakunle Olaitan, told NAN that Sanusi’s position was outrageous.
According to him, no one can talk of an economy by excluding the welfare of the citizenry.
“He can talk like that because he has everything at his disposal. Okonjo-Iweala did more than this, has the economy changed? So, whose interest are they serving?
“I want to believe he would say he was quoted out of context; however, l think he should be guided by the situation at hand, vis-a-vis the economy he is managing.
Meanwhile, the Radio, Television and Theatre Arts Workers Union (RATTAWU) has also condemned the call.
The national president of the union, Mr Oluyemisi Bamgbose, told NAN that the statement was “unfortunate and unbelievable.”
“I want to believe that he made the statement on the spur of the moment; it is not a statement that should come from a man of his calibre.
“I don’t think that such a person should make such a provocative statement.”
Workers due for retirement must go —FG
The Federal Government has vowed that civil servants due for retirement after 35 years of service or 60 years of age must go.
This was contained in a circular signed by the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Alhaji Isa Bello Sali,made available to newsmen in Kaduna on Wednesday, adding that the non-compliance to the three months pre-retirement/terminal leave, was worrisome.
“The Federal Government therefore called on those affected to comply with immediate effect by observing the three months pre-retirement/terminal leave as provided for in the extant Rules,” the circular stated.
It said officers are expected to proceed on one month pre-retirement training and the remaining two months to be used to update their records.
According to the circular, entitled Three Months Pre-Retirement/Terminal Leave, “It has been observed that the mandatory notice of retirement for officers who are due to retire after thirty-five years of service or sixty years of age is not being observed as provided for in the extant rules.
“Accordingly, it has become necessary to reiterate the provisions of Public Service Rules (PSR) 100238 which states that officers are required to give three months notice of their retirement from service terminating on the effective date of their retirement.
“At the commencement of the three months notice, an officer should immediately proceed on the mandatory one month pre-retirement training, while the remaining two months should be used to update their records in order to facilitate the speedy processing of their retirement benefits.”
The circular was addressed to the Chief of Staff to the President, the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Vice President, Chief Justice of the Federation, all ministers/ministers of state, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, service chiefs, the Inspector-General of Police, Chairman Federal Civil Service Commission and the Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Other recipients of the circular are all permanent secretaries and Heads of extra-ministerial departments, the Accountant-General of the Federation, Auditor-General of the Federation, Surveyor-General of the Federation, the directors-general/chief executives of parastatals and agencies.
Bamgbose said “for him to show that he is serious, let him start from his office by sacking 50 per cent of his staff, then tender his own resignation letter.”
Call for sack of 50 per cent civil servants is insensitive — CLO
In addition, the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), on Wednesday described as insensitive the suggestion by Sanusi, that 50 per cent of the nation’s civil servants be sacked.
Addressing a news conference in Lagos, Mr Ehi Omokhuale, Lagos State Chairman of the CLO, described the call as “a backward statement” by a public office holder.
The NAN, reports that Sanusi had on Tuesday at the Second Annual Capital Market Committee Retreat in Warri, Delta, called on the Federal Government to fire at least 50 per cent of its entire workforce.
Sanusi argued that the country spends 70 per cent of her earnings on salaries and entitlements of civil servants.
He said that having the Federal Government’s staff strength reduced by half would free up capital for infrastructure development in the country and buoy the economy.
Tribune
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