Oyo workers protest, lock state secretariat, demand palliatives

….As CSOs protest harsh economy in Osun

By Adeola Badru & Shina Abubakar

CIVIL servants in Oyo State, yesterday, locked the state Secretariat, in Ibadan, to demand palliatives, upward review of pension allowances and payment of salary deduction.

Participating in the protest are workers and pensioners, under the banners of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC; Trade Union Congress, TUC; Nigeria Union of Pensioners, NUP; Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, and their affiliates.

The workers, who were led by their union leaders, also demanded payment of leave bonuses, gratuities to retirees who have been stagnated since year 2021, and release of promotion letters for 2021 and 2022.

Addressing newsmen during the protest, chairman of the TUC, Mr Bosun Olabiyi, who outlined some of their agitations, said the failure of the state government to remit deductions from their salaries for cooperatives and other statutory commitments, amongst other concerns in the face of current economic hardship caused by fuel subsidy removal, necessitated the protest.

Olabiyi said: “We came to see the governor. We believe that our demands are before him. There is six months deduction that has been withheld by the state government. Deductions that are supposed to go to cooperatives, housing, and union dues, taken from workers’ salaries, have been withheld.

“This issue of deductions has been on for almost a year. At the January prayer meeting, he promised to pay two months and two months was not even paid until the end of the month when there was some agitation. Since then, it has again been accumulating.

“Pensioners in Oyo State are suffering. There are some pensioners still collecting N300 per month. The last time pension was reviewed was in the year 2007 during the administration of late governor Adebayo Alao-Akala. Since then, there have been things signed but not implemented. So, there are a series of arrears owed to pensioners. There is also the issue of outstanding promotions and leave bonuses. So that is why we all agreed to resume here today; we believe he will address us.”

Also speaking, the NLC chairman in the state, Mr Kayode Martins, said the organised labour union had been misrepresented in its dialogue with the government, hence the need to have an understanding with the governor in person to resolve their agitations.

Martins said: “There has been a lot of communication gap between us and our governor. We insist we want to see him. Many a time, our demands have been misrepresented; we are being misquoted to the governor so we want to see him to clear the air so that the harmonious relationship between the workers and the government will persist in the state.”

Oyo govt reacts

On his part, the Chairman of the Oyo NUP, Mr Segun Abatan said: “Nigerian workers, through the instrumentality of NLC, TUC, NUP have written Governor Makinde several letters about their demands. Unfortunately, they have not been addressed. We intend to meet the governor himself.

“As I speak with you, we have unpaid gratuities from 2014 till date. Also, we have pensioners earning N350 per month so we want pension review. The last pension increase was done by the late Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala in 2007. What I earned in 2007 is still what I earn.”

Reacting to the protest and the demand by the labour unions, the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr Dotun Oyelade, said only three months and not six months deductions are owed workers.

Oyelade said: “While the July salaries have been paid in Oyo State, not less than 20 states, including Ondo, Plateau, Benue and Bayelsa owe several months of salaries in arrears.

“Several more, including neighbouring states, are owing months of deduction arrears.”

CSOs protest economic hardship in Osun

Meanwhile, a Coalition of Civil Society Organisations in Osun State, yesterday, protested against the rising cost of living across the country.

The group lamented that the rise in the cost of living, as a result of the removal of fuel subsidy, has made living difficult for the masses due to the hard economic situation.

The protesters, who converged on Ayetoro, moved through Igbonna, Olonkoro, Old-Garage, Oke-Fia, and Alekuwodo, and terminated the procession at Olaiya under the bridge.

They also carried placards with inscriptions such as #ThePoorAreNotBreathing, #CutTheCostOfGovernance, “We are poor, We are hungry”, and “We can’t breathe! Our leaders don’t care”.

Addressing the Nigerians at different points during the protest, the convener of the group, Waheed Lawal, urged the Federal Government to reverse the hike in fuel prices, saying the masses deserve decent living.

Lawal said: “As Nigerians, God has blessed us with everything we need to live a dignified life but we have bad leaders who don’t care about us. Every human needs food, water, clothing, shelter, and sleep.

“The rising cost of living is gradually taking away our dignity; average Nigerians cannot afford to eat twice daily or fuel their vehicles again. The cost of food is high, and the cost of public education is getting higher, and job opportunity is declining every day.”

A leader of the group, Ayo Ologun, said the current economic hardship has further pushed many Nigerians to poverty, saying Nigeria is in a multi-dimensional crisis.

Ologun said: “The current economic hardship has pushed millions of Nigerians to poverty; the middle class has fallen; the rich are getting poor and the poor are getting poorer. Indeed, Nigeria is in a multidimensional crisis. There is no sense in any reform that strangulates the prosperity of the common people. Every reform must have a human face.

“There are millions of Nigerians without shelter. People have resulted to trekking far distances because of unaffordable transport fare; the rising inflation rate and floating of the naira has devalued whatever income one is making. The removal of fuel subsidy without a proper plan; and the failure of the Federal Government to provide palliative is a direct assault on the Nigerian people.”