NLC to FG: Deploy chunk of COVID-19 donations to health, education

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) wants the Federal Government to deploy the largest share of coronavirus (COVID-19) relief funds, donated by corporate organisations and individuals, to address deficits in health and education sectors.
Mr Ayuba Wabba, NLC President, made the appeal on Friday in Abuja, during the commemoration of the 2020 Workers” Day.
The theme of the workers’day celebration was: COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Socio-Economic Impact on the Nigerian Working Class.
Wabba said that it would be for the greater good of Nigerians, especially at this crucial period of the global pandemic, if a huge part of the donations was used in tackling deficits in both the education and health sectors.
“’For the first time in a long time, the commemoration of the Workers’ Day will be low key and behind closed doors, devoid of the usual pomp and parade that exemplify the ”never-say-never” spirit of the working class.
“This is as a result of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which is ravaging several cities and almost every country of the world right now.
“As at today, 210 countries and territories of the world have recorded a total of about three million cases. The world has lost more than 210,000 precious souls to this deadly virus.
“In Nigeria, the deadly fangs of the coronavirus have not been any less brutal. Over 1000 Nigerians have been infected with about 40 deaths already recorded,” he said.
He, however, noted that the infection rate in Nigeria could be more than what the official figures presented, as the country’s health system was merely struggling with contact tracing and testing for the virus.
The NLC scribe noted that the world would never remain the same again, even after the coronavirus pandemic.
He said COVID-19 had amplified the need to fix the primary healthcare system, adding that it was time to revamp the country’s  secondary and tertiary health institutions.
“We must reconstruct a robust public health emergency system.
“We, therefore, advocate that a huge chunk of the donations commendably made by corporate Nigerians on the COVID-19 and debt relief grants, be deployed to tackling the deficits in our education and health sectors.
“We can reverse the trend of overseas medical tourism by matching our highly skilled medical personnel with hi-tech medical machines, procured directly from Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).
“We must adequately remunerate and `incentivise’ our education and health personnel. We must stop treating labour as a commodity whose entitlements can be withheld or withdrawn at will,” he said.
Wabba further said that Nigeria must support its entertainment industry which provides a means of livelihood for its teeming population, especially the youths.
“This is the time to wean our collective survival from the uncertain juices of crude oil.
“The diversification of our economy requires very robust investment in modern and enduring infrastructure, if we aspire to build a 21st century economy.
“We also call for an urgent review of the power privatisation programme.
“We demand a stop to the exploitation of electricity consumers in Nigeria through estimated billing.
“We also call for the expansion and improvement of our existing road network, ports, railways, internal waterways, and our aviation sector,” he said.
The NLC president called for inward search for capable hands to invest in Nigeria and develop its economy instead of `the craze of globe trotting’ in the name of looking for investors.
He also advised Nigerian leaders to look inwards to encourage local talents, innovations and enterprise.
“’We want to see government take the challenge of local innovations seriously.
“This also means that we must adequately fund research. A country that neglects research is a country that has consigned itself to perpetual servitude.
“Nobody would grow our economy for us. The reality is that capital mobility would be a lot harder in the next few years following the COVID-19 pandemic, as richer countries will be struggling to rebuild their own economies.”
According to Wabba, if the country can curb wasteful spending such as payment of bogus severance allowances and pension to political office holders, it will tackle a bigger part of its challenges and keep its workforce and system free of corruption.
“The truth is that if we tackle official corruption and waste, there will be enough funds to pay workers salaries.
“The slowdown in the economy will never be accepted as an excuse to owe employees or lay off workers from their jobs.”
The NLC president said to re-start Nigeria’s economy, there was need to understand the public health imperatives of the lockdown in many parts of the country.
“As much as it is important to keep many Nigerians safe from the coronavirus, loss of income and the accompanying destitution can also be a pathfinder for numerous other sicknesses and deaths.
“This is the time to play the balancing game. It is gratifying that President Muhammadu Buhari, in his last nationwide broadcast on COVID-19, announced an imminent relaxation of the lockdown in the FCT, Ogun and Lagos states.
“The truth is that our economy might go into prolonged coma, if the total lockdown in many parts of our country persists, as lockdowns are best effective in the short term,” he said.
He therefore called for a smart, gradual and evidence-based re-starting of the economy.
Wabba explained that to ensure that, governments should collaborate and build at least one test centre in each state.
“They should also put in more efforts at COVID-19 testing, contact tracing, public fumigation and  environmental sanitation; and robust public health education should be expanded and intensified,” he said.