Nasarawa NLC sacks chairman, begin indefinite strike

The Nasarawa State chapter of Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has sacked its chairman and appointed a new leadership.

The new Chairman, Bala Umaru, while addressing a press conference at Labour House, said the decision of the state executive council to pass a vote of no confidence on his predecessor, Abdullahi Adeka, over gross compromise was necessary.

“Since the pass three years of his leadership, the union has never achieved anything in its struggle, because of his double standard. He was always wining and dining with the government, so they don’t take the union serious.”

Umaru also said the union decided to commence an indefinite strike from yesterday because the state government remained adamant against the earlier agreement to pay workers all backlog of salaries since last year.

In the same vein, state Chairman of Trade Union Congress (TUC), Namo Danladi, lamented the degrading manner the state government handles workers, saying: “I strongly believe Governor Tanko Al-Makura’s dogs feed sumptuously and far better than workers in the state.”

Danladi stated that the state remains shut down urged all union members to comply strictly with the decision to stay at home until further notice.

Meanwhile, Adeka told newsmen that the decision to remove him in absentia was a nullity, adding: “I was chairing the congress today (yesterday) when the general secretary of my union (health workers) called me from Abuja and while I left to attend to him, I heard that I was removed.”

He, however, hinted that negotiations were ongoing and therefore the strike would not hold.

But the state Secretary of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mohammed Naibi, said the strike became imperative after the expiration of the ultimatum given to the state government.

Naibi, who expressed delight with the level of compliance with the strike, also said: “In the past six years, all the civil servants in the state had stagnated with no promotion and annual increment.