Nationwide Strike: APC chieftain knocks FG over failure to keep agreement with labour
… Warns economic hardship might lead to self-help, anarchy
By Lanre Oloyede
Chieftain of All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief Jackson Lekan-Ojo, has blamed the impending industrial action by organized labour on failure of federal government to keep to agreement reached with labour over the years.
Recall that Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) had issued the Federal Government a 14-day ultimatum to implement agreements reached with workers to ease economic hardships confronting them and other citizens.
This was contained in a statement by leaders of both organisations, Joe Ajaero and Festus Usifo, respectively, on Thursday, February 8, 2024.
The statement disclosed that the 14-day ultimatum would begin on Friday, February 9, and described the failure of the Nigerian government under President Bola Tinubu as a show of bad faith.
Reacting to the development, the public affairs analyst, Chief Lekan-Ojo submitted that government has been playing a deceptive game with labour, showing insensitivity to the plight of workers and ordinary citizens as a result of hyper-inflation that has seen prices of commodities soar higher above the reach of common man.
He noted that government demonstrated insensitivity to the plight of workers by approving purchase of utility vehicles worth N600m for each senator and member of house of representative, yatch for the president and voting of huge sums to the office of the first lady, yet found it difficult to implement any of the agreements reached with labour.
The security expert also expressed mixed feelings over rising insecurity as a result of the hardship across the country.
Chief Lekan-Ojo maintained that when people lose confidence in the system, they might be forced to take to self-help.
He noted that the pockets of protests in some parts of the country, if unchecked might snowballed into self-help which might lead to anarchy.
Speaking on the political crisis in Rivers State, the APC chieftain stated that the appointment of Edison Ehie as the new Chief of Staff by Governor Sim Fubara is a good step in building his own political structure.
“It is an appointment that is well deserved, he worked to deserve it and I think he has won the trust of the governor. At the same time, he has the experience, he has been deputy speaker, he has been majority leader, so both legislative and executive experience he has it.
“All of them were formerly in the structure of former governor Peter Odili, but Rotimi Amaechi came and formed his own structure and when Wike got there, he formed his own structure too. Today, I think it is becoming too late for Gov. Sim Fubara to form his own structure because I expected him to have formed his own structure because for the next four years, he will be the governor of Rivers State and he will need his own structure,” Chief Lekan-Ojo said.
He commended governor Fubara for honoring president Tinubu by keeping to his side of the peace agreement by reinstating the nine commissioners who earlier resigned from his government but advised the returning nine commissioners who were recently sworn in to be loyal to the governor.
“These commissioners who have gone back need to prove themselves by being loyal to the governor because he has the power to hire and fire. If they show any sign of disloyalty I think the governor should fire them and there is nothing anybody can do or question him for that.
” I think for what he has done, he has honour the president of the federal Republic of Nigeria by reinstating the commissioners,” he said.
