President Muhammadu Buhari has
defended the refusal of Chris Ngige, minister of labour and employment, to
swear in Frank Kokori as the chairman of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust
Fund (NSITF) board.
In a statement on Sunday, Femi
Adesina, presidential spokesman, said Kokori has also been redeployed by the
president to now head the board of Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour
Studies (MINILS).
Ngige has been at loggerheads
with some NSITF officials including Kokori following his refusal to inaugurate
the board of the agency.
Buhari subsequently appointed
Austin Enajemo-Isire to replace Kokori.
But the inauguration of the new
board has been stalled as a result of protests by the Nigerian Labour Congress
(NLC) who insisted Kokori must be sworn in as the board chairman.
Adesina, however, said the
minister’s decision not to inaugurate the board as well as other actions toward
the “repositioning” of the agency “were part of the special work plan approved
for the Honourable Minister by Mr. President.”
He lamented that the NSITF was
“riddled with corruption between 2012 – 2015” which resulted in a loss of about
N48 billion.
“All actions taken by the
Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment towards the resuscitation and
repositioning of this ailing agency, including the Administrative Panel of
Inquiry into the affairs of NSITF and the suspension of the inauguration of the
board in 2018 were part of the special work plan approved for the Honourable
Minister by Mr. President,” he said.
He further said Enejamo-Isire and
other members of the board appointed by the president will be inaugurated on
Monday in Abuja.
“Finally, the Presidency has
noted with deep concern and regrets, the events that culminated in a skirmish
at the private residence of the Hon. Minister of Labour and Employment, and
condemns it, in its entirety,” he added.
“However, in the spirit of
reconciliation, the Presidency appeals for calm from the NLC and the Ministry
of Labour and Employment officials, as there are ongoing efforts to reconcile
the NLC leadership with the Ministry of Labour and Employment, led by their
Minister who has doggedly been fighting the cause of Nigerian workers whenever
their issue is discussed by government, the latest being the enactment of the
new National Minimum Wage Act 2019.”
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