HARDSHIP: NLC Raises Alarm, See What They Said Most Governors Now Do In Abuja
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has complained that many governors leave their states and stay in Abuja, the country’ s capital, instead of taking care of their people who are struggling. NLC President, Joe Ajaero, said this during a meeting with workers at the NLC office in Lokoja, Kogi State. The NLC leaders came to Kogi State to hand over 10 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses to help with transportation problems. The meeting was mainly for workers to share their problems and requests with the NLC leaders, so they could be passed on to the governor. Ajaero said they had visited five areas, but most governors were never around because they had traveled to Abuja.
He added that workers were struggling with the high cost of living, and increasing telecom tariffs would make things even harder for them. Ajaero promised to inform the governor about the workers’ complaints. He also mentioned that out of the five areas they visited, only one governor was present. Ajaero said: ” However, there is a problem we are having in trends because most governors are now living permanently in Abuja. We have moved to about five zones, Kogi is about the fifth zone. We have met governors in only one state. Each time you go there, they are in Abuja and this is affecting governance.
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” I think we should be able to manage the center and the units, so people will have the feeling of democracy, the dividend of democracy, so that people can talk to their leaders. So if we capture all these things, the information you are going to give us will be conditional if the governor is around. If he’ s around, we will convey your information to him. If he’ s not around, whosoever he’ s going to send, we pass it to him. ” He stated that Kogi State was important to the Congress because both the governor and deputy governor had backgrounds as union leaders. He added that Governor Usman Ododo was once his colleague in Niger State, while the deputy governor was a former official of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT).
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Also, he said: ” So, we want to make this as a town hall meeting to listen to you to know what has been done and what has not been done properly, so we take it to them. To us, it is like home coming. We want to come and interact with them to find out whether they are doing those things we are criticising others for. ” Regarding the ban on labor unions in state- owned tertiary institutions by Governor Yahaya Bello’ s administration, the NLC President expressed shock that such a policy existed in the state. He stated that the state government had no authority to prohibit unions since labor matters fall under the exclusive legislative list. ” Let me say here, union practice falls under the Exclusive Legislative List in the Constitution.
” No governor has powers to ban them, you don’ t ban what you don’ t have control over. Unions are registered nationally by the registrar of trade unions. For administrative convenience, they may choose to have branches in states, so what are you now banning? ” he said. The workers told the NLC President that for over 10 years, the Kogi State government had banned labor unions in schools like Kogi State Polytechnic, Kogi State University, and the State Colleges of Education, Technology, and Nursing. They also asked the NLC to help with other problems, such as the government not increasing salaries every year, not providing housing for workers, and not hiring enough teachers for primary and junior secondary schools.
From available reports, life in Nigeria is becoming more difficult for many people. Prices of food, transport, and basic needs keep rising, making it hard for families to survive. Many workers earn little money, and their salaries are not enough to cover daily expenses. Even those who have jobs struggle, while many others remain unemployed and find it difficult to provide for their families. Electricity and fuel costs have also gone up, affecting businesses and homes. Many small businesses are shutting down because they cannot afford to keep running. Farmers face challenges due to high costs of farming materials and insecurity in rural areas, making food even more expensive.
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