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NLC decries violence outbreak in Kogi House Assembly

By Collins Olayinka, Abuja
05 August 2017   |   6:17 am
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has bemoaned the outbreak of violence in the Kogi State House of Assembly.The President of Congress, Ayuba Wabba, alleged that forcing out the immediate past Speaker, Honourable Alfa Imam over query of the state government over the disbursement of the Paris Club....

The President of the Nigerian Labour Congress, Ayuba Wabba PHOTO: NAN

Cautions Bello Against Proscribing ASUU

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has bemoaned the outbreak of violence in the Kogi State House of Assembly.The President of Congress, Ayuba Wabba, alleged that forcing out the immediate past Speaker, Honourable Alfa Imam over query of the state government over the disbursement of the Paris Club refund was height of political intolerance by the state government.

“For those who may not have been in the know, last week, the speaker, Honourable Alfa Imam was forced out and a more pliant one installed. The offence of the former Speaker was that he had initiated a legislative process to look into the disbursements of the Paris Club refund following non-payment of salaries and pensions and the industrial tensions in its aftermath,” he stated.

Accordingly, Congress called on the Federal Government to, as a matter of urgency, commence investigations into the disbursements of bail-out funds (50% percent of which it had directed should be applied to payment of salaries, pensions and gratuities); continuous non-payment of salaries and pensions; endless staff audit which has become a convenient alibi for owing salaries and pensions by the state government.

NLC added that it believes that the Federal Government should be concerned that the state-contrived industrial disharmony in the state is slowly but steadily degenerating into a political crisis as exemplified by the clamp down on ASUU and the State-sponsored violence in the House of Assembly and other acts of witch-hunt in the State’s socio-political space.

NLC said: “We need not remind the Federal Government that these represent strong threats to our democracy and should not be condoned. Government should not be under the illusion that the developments in the state will simply peter out with time. It will be a criminally negligent assumption, and therefore dangerous.”

Congress also flayed the state governor, Yahaya Bello for embarking on ludicrous journey of proscribing the Kogi State University branch of the Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU) saying the hasty and ill-advised action contradicts all known and extant national and international laws and conventions, as the Governor has no right to ban a Union.

It insisted that trade unions, as independent workers organizations are neither under the control of the state government nor registered by it.NLC observed that the action of the governor is capable of precipitate actions are capable of exacerbating the already fragile social and industrial relations atmosphere in the state.

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