APC Presidential Candidate Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has met with the leadership labour unions to intimate them with policies and reforms that will make Nigeria safe for living.
Tinubu gave the assurance while interacting with the organized labour and Civil Society groups in Abuja.
He discussed and shed more light on his action plans in the renewed hope documents for the organised labour in the country.
The APC flag bearer said he transformed Lagos and powered it to become the 5th largest economy in Africa.
“Today, the questions you all must ask yourselves are these: who can be trusted to accomplish all of this? The man who has done it before or the man whose most lasting achievement as Vice President is the corrupt sale of national assets to his friends and cronies?
“Who has the better plan? The man whose blueprint guided the emergence of Lagos State as the fifth largest economy in Africa or the man whose greatest pride is the amount of money he managed to bury in the sand while his state’s infrastructure decayed and its workers suffered endless hardship?
“The choice is yours. But permit me to now talk a little about myself and my vision. I have always been and will continue to be a progressive democrat.
“In my worldview, the government has a cardinal responsibility to work not only with business but also with labour to ensure that all constituent parts of our society are afforded their fair share of rewards without taking on undue hardship,” Tinubu said.
The former Lagos governor said just like the labour leaders, he has been at the forefront of fighting the government for good governance all his life, a move for which he was detained and eventually forced into exile.
“As Organised Labour, you have been at the forefront of the worker’s rights movement in Nigeria, championing economic fairness and the welfare of the average person, the weak and the forgotten.
“You have also been involved in the struggle for democracy and political rights. Your collective efforts breathe life into the democratic rights and economic ideals enshrined in our constitution.
“I can speak fondly of your impact on our nation because of my personal history on the frontlines of the social justice movement. I may be running for president now, but I was not always in this position.
“Long before I started running for the presidency, I was running away from military dictators angered by my important role in protests against them and their efforts to vanquish our democratic aspirations.
“The defining moment of my public life came during Nigeria’s struggle for democracy and my membership in the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) movement.
“I have dedicated my entire being to that cause. I was detained, then was forced into exile because of my refusal to accept anything less than a government based on the proposition that the will of the people is sovereign and should reign over armed might and imposition.
“I believe that those assembled here today share the same ideals of progressive and democratic good governance.
“I have spent my political life advocating for the rights and interests of ordinary Nigerians as you also do.
“We have long been fellow travellers on the same road. I hope that we shall continue as friends and brothers”
On his plans if elected, Tinubu said his administration would make the fiscal and monetary policies work for the workers and Nigerians so they can have a good life.
He also said he would ensure the nation is massively industrialised to give more people better-paying jobs, while also opening doors to more emerging sectors younger ones can harness.
The engagement addressed how to deepen democracy by sustainable policies, his interest in the struggle of organised labour, security of public service jobs, protection of private sector workers, upgrading of labour market institutions and industrialization.
Members of the Nigerian Labour Congress, the Trade Union Congress and Civil Society groups outlined their charter of demand touching on the fight against corruption and how rule of law should be protected. They want him to fix education and the health sectors if elected.
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