NLC kicks as council chairmen threaten sack over workers’ refusal to resume work in Osun

How I sustained peace despite provocation, by Adeleke
The council chairmen elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the October 15, 2022 council election and the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) might be in for a serious confrontation over a threat to sack council workers.

Meanwhile, it was observed that the chairmen officially returned to their council secretariats, yesterday, amid tight security.

Visits to Ifelodun Local Council in Ikirun, the Olorunda Local Council in Igbona, and the Osogbo Local Council in Oke-Baale showed that the chairmen on the platform of the major opposition party had resumed their duties.

A heavy security presence was also noted across major roads in the state, with armed police operatives and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) officers mounting roadblocks at the entrances to the secretariats.

Security checkpoints were observed along the Osogbo/Kwara Boundary Road, Osogbo/Ilesa Road, and Osogbo/Ibokun Road.

However, irked by the continuous desolation of the council headquarters following the refusal of the workers to resume duties, the APC said it would determine the fate of the workers if they fail to resume duties tomorrow.

A former Special Adviser on Education to former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, Jamiu Olawumi, said that the chairmen and councillors had directed council members of staff to return to work by tomorrow (Wednesday).

But the NLC, in a statement by its Chairman, Abimbola Arapasopo, while affirming its earlier statement notifying all council workers in the state to withdraw their services as a result of the political upheaval within their workplaces, said the directive to stay off-work still subsists for the councils’ staff.

“This release further reiterates that the members’ safety at work is of high priority, and we will not allow our members to work in an atmosphere of insecurity.

“The Osun State Council of the NLC remains resolute in its commitment to defending the rights and interests of workers and the masses. We shall not be cowed or intimidated by the desperate attempt to silence us. We stand firm in our resolve to uphold justice, fairness, and the rule of law in our beloved state,” the NLC chairman said.

MEANWHILE, Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, yesterday, said he had proven to be a crisis manager with an eye on public peace and prosperity in the face of provocation by the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) over control of local councils in the state.

He said the sustenance of peace across the state “despite the evil plot of anarchists within the opposition” was due to his security acumen and penchant for peace and tranquillity.

Adeleke, in a statement by his Spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, described as ‘libellous and defamatory’, an allegation of importing thugs levelled against top functionaries of the administration by those he referred to as ‘children of anarchy,’ maintaining that the allegation is “a baseless concoction without any iota of truth.”