NLC tackles Amosun over threat to disgrace members
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has chided the Governor of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun, over a statement credited to him in which he threatened to disgrace its leadership for insisting to embark on a protest on Tuesday in the state.
NLC President Ayuba Wabba in a statement, Friday, said the governor`s threats will not deter it from defending the interest of workers in Ogun State whose rights, he claimed, the governor has been trampling upon.
Wabba accused the governor of nonremittance of statutory deductions from workers’ salaries for pensions, cooperative, ‘Ileya’, Christmas etc. over a period of 105 months.
He also accused the governor of nonutilization of the last tranche of the Paris Club refund for the payment of gratuity for both state and local government workers since 2013, despite signing a collective agreement with organized labour in the state.
Wabba further accused the governor of refusing to pay workers at the Tai Solarin College of Education their salary arrears that accumulated for the past 10 years and now grossed to a financial liability of about N9 billion, alleging that the governor sacked the chairman of the NLC from his employment for standing firm in the defense of the rights of workers in the state.
“The issues we have highlighted are too grievous to be swept under the carpet, therefore, the decision of the 12th National Delegates Conference of the NLC to confront and engage Governor Amosun will be carried out to the letter on Tuesday.
“Our confidence stems from the protection and guarantees provided by Section 40 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution which gives workers and indeed all Nigerians the freedom to peaceful assembly and protest.
“All that the law requires us to do is to inform the police and relevant security agencies. This we have done. We are ready to peacefully protest the grievous mistreatment by our workers in the hands of Governor Ibikunle Amosun on 5th March 2019,” Wabba said.
He said it was unfortunate that a sitting governor and a former senator like Amosun could descend into violent utterances in order to cow workers, adding that he would be held personally responsible for any harm that comes to any worker during its protest scheduled for Tuesday.