AS NIGERIANS mourn the death of former President Muhammadu Buhari at 82, the Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS), Ilorin, Comrade Issa Aremu, said the late statesman’s “progressive labour-friendly policies” and historic posthumous recognition of Chief Moshood Abiola as the winner of the June 12, 1993 elections constitute his enduring legacies.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari died at age 82 on Sunday in London after a “prolonged illness,”. The Federal Government had on Monday declared Tuesday, July 15, 2025, a public holiday to honour the memory of the late former President.
In a statement of Tribute, Comrade Aremu listed what he called “evidence-based bagful of President Buhari’s labour-friendly records” to include “improved 2019 Minimum Wage Act from N18,000 to N30,000, public job retention, non-retrenchment of public service jobs and safeguards of private sector jobs despite the challenges of economic recessions and economic disruptions caused by Covid-19 pandemic, approved National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission 20 per-cent pay increase for Police Officers, 1,000 jobs in each of the 774 local governments, commitment to lift 100 million out of poverty in ten years, mass direct and indirect jobs through state-led interventions championed by monetary (CBN) and fiscal, (Ministry of Finance) authorities in agriculture and industry, bail outs for states governors to meet salaries’ obligations and respect for social dialogue, not labour repression as tool for resolution of work-related disputes”.
According to the Director General, “for the first time in 60 years after independence, former President Buhari accorded labour ministry “legitimate recognition with two ministers, who under him in turn commendably intervened on what he called “preventable and avoidable intractable” labour disputes in universities, disputes between the government of Kaduna state under Mallam Nasir El rufai and Nigeria labour Congress ( NLC) among others.
Aremu praised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for consolidating on the progressive traditions of the APC led Buhari- progressive labour policies in the last two years with renewed Hope Agenda that has also commendably raised minimum wage to unprecedented N70,000, the N758bn bond to settle long standing pension liabilities in history, further retained public jobs despite public revenue challenge and creation of hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect decent jobs in record two years”
“Former President Buhari, just like President Bola Tinubu, rightly knew that labour creates wealth if properly trained on productivity and motivation ”, Aremu remarked, adding that “remembering Buhari amounts to a celebration of progressive politics in this democratic dispensation”.
The Director General however added that the high point of the tenure of the late 6th Democratically elected President (Muhammdu Buhari) was the “historic official proclamation of June 12th as Nigeria’s real democracy Day in 2019” adding that by “that singular courageous and just decision, President Buhari conclusively and commendably put a welcome closure to the tragedy of the annulment of 1993 popular election won by the late Chief Moshood Abiola,”. He prayed that Almighty Allah grant the great statesman eternal forgiveness and rest.
