Unpaid entitlements: We’ll lock down Ogun Friday – NLC president

The president of the Nigerian Labour Congress, Ayuba Wabba, will on Friday lead a national protest of organised labour in Abeokuta, Ogun State, over what he alleged as “anti-worker actions” of Governor Ibikunle Amosun’s government.

Wabba, in a letter dated February 20, 2019 and addressed to Amosun, said the protest, tagged “Operation Occupy Ogun State”, would keep the state locked down until the workers’ demands were met.

He said the planned protest was against the unpaid backlog of salary deductions and gratuity, failure to reinstate the state chairman of the NLC, Akeem Ambali, who was dismissed by the state government and the plight of workers of the Tai Solarin College of Education, Omu-Ijebu.

The letter was titled “Re: Notice of Protest Against AntiWorker Actions of the Ogun State Government Scheduled For 1st March, 2019.”

Wabba regretted that the government failed to address the issues earlier raised in various letters dated December 10, 2018, January 16, 2019 and February 8, 2019.

The letter reads partly “Given the intransigence of the Ogun State Government to respond to earlier entreaties by the NLC, organised Labour in Nigeria has no other option left than to keep Ogun State on an industrial lockdown until our demands as follows are met:

“Liquidation of about 104 months arrears of withheld statutory deductions owed workers and unions in Ogun State in line with the agreement reached between the state government and organised labour that the last tranche of Paris Club refund be used for this purpose; payment of gratuity owed retirees in Ogun State;

“Reinstatement of Comrade Akeem Ambali, NLC Ogun State Council Chairperson, to his work with the state government and the payment of his salaries and entitlements withheld throughout the period of his unjust suspension from work; settlement of salary arrears owed workers of Tai Solarin College of Education, OmuIjebu Ode”.