Kogi: We are going all out against Gov. Bello – Workers threaten

The organised labour in Kogi State has threatened to call for a mass action against Kogi State Government if it continues to handle the welfare of workers and the entire citizenry with careless abandon.

The Secretaries of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Olakunle Faniyi, Trade Union Congress, Comrade James Kolawole and their Joint Public Service Negotiating Council counterpart, Comrade Isa Abubakar made the threat in statement issued to DAILY POST in Lokoja on Tuesday.

The organised labour said workers could no longer contain the insensitive and callous attitude of the government despite the hallowing experience workers are going through in the hand of Yahaya Bello’s administration.

They said the recent directive issued by the state Commissioner For Education, Dr Sunday Tolorunleke, urging striking workers to resume or face sack gave Kogi State government away as the most insensitive government in the history of Nigeria.

The organised labour maintained that the death of Edward Soje who the Head of Civil Service, Mrs Deborah Ogunmola confirmed in a statement that the government was owing nine months salaries at the time he committed suicide and others also dying silently due to non payment of salary would have been enough for the government to show compassion and for once commiserate with the organised labour for loss of their loved ones and not a sack threat.

The organised labour, therefore, called on the entire workforce of Kogi State to ignore the threat of the government and be prepared to come out in their large numbers in the proposed mass action to tell the government that power actually lies in the hands of the people and that Yahaya Bello and other persons in position of authority are only custodians.

“Remember that government threatened workers not to join the strike but they joined, they also threatened no-work no-pay and workers ignored them and now they have come with their antics of mass sack which has no basis in the civil service law and other extant laws in the country. So, workers should be bold enough to ignore this threat of sack.”

According to the statement, ” any attempt to return to work as threatened by government will mean surrendering our freedom as government has refused to accord workers their rights as enshrined in the Constitution and international statue books.”

The organised labour therefore asked Governor Yahaya Bello-led government to explain to the people of Kogi State what it has done with the statutory allocation of 4.2 billion Naira it received in the month of September 2017.

“For the avoidance of doubt therefore, it is the right of workers to embark on strike when their employers have failed to meet with the terms of employment and therefore the principle of ‘no-pay-no-work’ also applies.

“The organised labour commiserate with the family of Late Edward Soje who the state government has confessed owing nine months salaries as at the time he committed suicide and many others out there daily loosing their loved ones because of nonpayment of salaries.

“We wish the entire workforce God’s guidance and protection as we continue the struggle for collective emancipation of our people and generation yet unborn in the hands of tyrants.

“The strike continues indefinitely, ” the union maintained.