Abuja, Nigeria, 30 April 2015: The President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari has extolled the sacrifices of the Nigerian working class in the face of economic tough times in their everyday struggle to survive.
In his May Day message to Nigerian workers, General Buhari said he was fully aware of the hardships of the Nigerian working class, which he said, was compounded by poor governance and large-scale pervasive corruption in the country.
According to him, the Nigerian working class are among the worst hit social groups on account of poor living standards, a situation, he said was inconsistent with Nigeria’s vast oil wealth.
General Buhari expressed dismay at the paradox of Nigeria’s oil wealth, characterized by rising poverty while a few corrupt officials are making themselves very rich at the expense of people’s wealth.
The President-elect also regretted the fact that honest labour has been relegated to the background.
He warned that a country that sacrifices honesty in favour of quick wealth by whatever means cannot expect to achieve progress and respect in the eyes of other nations.
General Buhari reassured the Nigerian workers that his incoming administration would be fully committed to boosting the morale of the Nigerian workers in order to increase productivity and their income.
He explained that productivity is directly related to the development of the country’s economy, adding that his incoming administration would increase incentives for the Nigerian workers in order to boost their income.
He, however, appealed to the Nigerian workers to cooperate fully with his incoming administration in order to tackle the monster of corruption, which he said is the greatest enemy of development.
General Buhari advised civil servants against connivance with corrupt politicians and other public officials to divert public resources to private use.
