Posted by By PHILIP NWOSU, PETER ANOSIKE, LAGOS HAMMED ABODUNRIN, OSHOGBO and AKEEB ALARAPE, IBADAN on
It was bashing all the way for the Federal Government as the president of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) Adams Oshiomhole criticised President Olusegun Obasanjo over his refusal to release local government funds to Lagos State.
It was bashing all the way for the Federal Government as the president of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) Adams Oshiomhole criticised President Olusegun Obasanjo over his refusal to release local government funds to Lagos State.
Oshiomhole warned the Federal Government during a rally to mark the 2005 May Day celebration in Port Harcourt of the dangers of starving the local government of funds.
He said that the refusal by the government to release the funds could weaken democracy in Nigeria and efforts should be made expressly to address the matter.
For the first time in six years, Obasanjo shunned the labour rally, but was represented by the Labour Minister, Hassan Lawan.
Oshiomhole called on the government to open a probe against the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, following its decision to write off the N78billion owed it by some banks in the country.
While the NLC president called on the government to work towards ensuring better working condition for Nigerian workers, the President General of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC Mrs. Peace Nkiru Obiajulu lashed out at the government for their laxity in ensuring that the standard of living in Nigeria improves.
Indeed, Obiajulu said the economy has gone into comatose, six years after democracy was enthroned.
According to the leaders of the Trade Unions in Nigeria, President Obasanjo's six years in office has left nothing than poverty in his trail, adding that hardship had continued as the situations, rather than improve, have continued to get worse.
She spoke during a rally in Lagos to mark the 2005 May Day Celebrations , noting that "the TUC is again constrained by the comatose state of the economy. The Congress calls on the Federal Government to take drastic steps towards revamping our national economy. We observe that six years after President Olusegun Obasanjo assumed office,nothing has really changed on the economic scene,which even appears to be getting worse rather improving."
She also said that the recent allegations of N55 millionbribery scandal in the National Assembly.the fraudulent acquisition of wealth by a privileged few, the illegal allocation of 207 houses in Ikoyi to some government functionaries and the disappearance and appearance of a ship, MT African Pride showed how corruption has eaten deep into the social fabric of our country.
The TUC's attack is coming on the heels of anger by the workers in Osun State against the Governorship aspirant of Alliance for Democracy(AD)in the State,Engineer Rauf Aregbesola for sending congratulatory message to the workers in the State.
In his message to the workers, Aregbesola who is also the Lagos State Works Commissioner congratulated the workers and charged them to keep hope and struggle against exploitation alive as did their past and present leaders like Pa Micheal Imoudu,Baba Omojola, Late Ola Oni,Adam Oshiomole among others.
Reacting to the message, State Chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Sulaiman Oseni urged workers to disregard Aregbesola's message, pledging the workers full support for governor Oyinlola.
He said:"We note the overtures being made to workers by the AD and a group within the party that calls itself Oranmiyan, but we are not impressed,we saw their newspaper adverts but we are not impressed, we want to state categorically that there will be no meeting point between Osun Workers and the people who terrorized us with their misrule between 1999 - 2003."
Earlier in his message,Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola charged workers in the state to remain dilligent and upright in the discharge of their duties, assuring them that the state government would continue to make their welfare a priority.
Addressing the workers at the Osogbo Township Stadium, during a rally to mark the Worker's Day, Oyinlola reiterated committment of his administration to the workers welfare ,charging them to always support the government and contribute their quota to the state development .
He noted that his administration had been able to restore hope of the workers through stoppage of salary deductions, reinstatement of retrenched workers by the last AD led administration in the state ,promotion of workers among other welfare packages to motivate workers..
He then called on the workers to ensure that AD is not allowed to come back to the state.
Also in Ekiti, Governor Ayo Fayose told workers in the state to embark on family planning in other to bail themselves out of the grips of poverty.
The governor, while speaking at the rally to commemorate this year's Workers' Day celebrations at the Oluyemi Kayode Stadium, Ado-Ekiti, said most workers in the state are biting more than they can chew through indiscriminate multiplication of wives and children.
This, according to him, had been eating deep into the pockets of the civil servants, thus throwing them into unending poverty and want.
"We are resolutely committed to solving your problems. We will always be concerned about your welfare and we will sustain it. We will do everything to sustain the tempo because you are the instruments in the hands of government. We will do everything possible to help you.
However, in Ibadan the lingering face-off between Oyo State Governor, Rashidi Ladoja and leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) Oyo State Chapter, came to the open, Sunday, at the Workers Day Rally as the two engaged each other in war of words over their irreconciliable differences.
The Workers Day, which recorded a very low turn-out, however went on peacefully with each of the participating unions engaging in the traditional march past.
But when the programme got to the delivery of speeches by the officials, the State NLC Chairman, Comrade Raufu Alamu spared no words in attacking Ladoja's administration over what he called the
insensitivity of the government to the workers' demands and needs.
Alamu specifically criticised the government for the non-implementation of the 121/2 per cent salary increase, heavy taxation of the civil servants, divide and rule tactics of the government as well as the refusal of the state to give bank guarantee to the workers' motorcycle transportation scheme.