APC to Ayuba Wabba: NLC IS DEAD IN ADAMAWA

The organising secretary of All Progressive Congress (APC) in Adamawa Ahmed Lawal on Wednesday took a swipe at the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Adamawa state Chapter for displaying what he called “grave silence” why the Adamawa state government manhandle workers and retrench civil servants untimely.

Lawal accused Emmanuel Fashe led NLC in Adamawa of playing to the gallery by watching the state government infringe on the rights of civil servants as NLC was established to protect worker’s welfare and consequently blasted Emmanuel Fashe led NLC for constituting itself into an emperor that collects check-up dues from workers and failed to defend their interest in Adamawa.

He noted that the Adamawa state government cannot fire workers at will and the Adamawa state NLC continue in silence over the current predicaments and emotional torture the Fintiri led state government have subjected the workers to, all in the name of due process.

He said the NLC Adamawa state chapter cannot feign ignorance over the recent mass sack of workers by Fintiri led state government that attracts nationwide condemnation from Nigerians and residents of the state, adding that the Adamawa state chapter of NLC is aggravating the felony of force torture meted to the innocent workers by Fintiri led administration.

Reacting to a statement by the state government on why it was sacking workers, Lawal said: “As far as APC is concern the NLC led by Emmanuel Fashe is dead in Adamawa and we are calling on Ayuba Wabba to come to its rescue as the union leadership in Adamawa watch helplessly as the Fintri led state government go ahead to fire workers at will without any resistance as required by the leadership of the union in Adamawa.

“Instead of protesting to the governor to halt the continue assaults by the state government on the workers, the NLC in Adamawa remained silent up till this moment, how do you explain to the people that a government that fails to initiate a single capital project since May 2019 has continue to fire workers, we wonder what the state government is doing with the money coming from FAAC at Abuja since there is no capital projects to spend it on and same workers welfare they promised to give priority to is now being treated with knee jerk approach as the state government cannot pay minimum wage without first tackling the promotion arrears of workers.

“even the so called 32000 naira minimum wage they champion all over the media, we are watching how they plan to implement it as thousands of workers in Adamawa is been denied of their promotion arrears by the administration that front workers welfare as their priority, how can one convince the workers that Adamawa state government promised to pay 32000 minimum wage when a level 8 officer in the health sector still collect 23,600 naira a month in Adamawa State, this show that the government of the day that predicated their administration on workers welfare from inception is only paying lip service to the problem facing Adamawa workers, if not you cannot implement minimum wage when promotion arrears of workers are yet to be implemented, for instance if a level 1-6 official collect 32000 naira as minimum wage what will level 7-8 collect this time around without the governor looking into the pending promotion arrears and attend to it before the minimum wage drama we are witnessing.

“The state has now said that “It is only appropriate that 32000 naira minimum wage will be paid without drawing the table of payments for those on grade level 7- 8 that still collect salary of 23,600 naira in the health sector in Adamawa.”

“From the latest statement it is crystal clear that the state government is hell bent on making a blanket payment of 32000 naira as minimum wage irrespective of the level of workers.

“With respect to the NLC leadership in Adamawa, we wish to state, without any fear of contradiction, that the union watch as the state government has apparently constituted itself into a court of law that decide the process that throws up the workers for appointments.

“In view of the reckless silence by the leadership of the union in Adamawa, we are calling on the national leadership of the union to intervene and save the workers from the agony and penury they are been subjected to and also calling on the NLC led by Emmanuel Fashe in Adamawa to resign with immediate effect as they have fail in their duty to protects the workers they swore to fight for.

“Finally, I confirm that Adamawa state leadership of the NLC are not in touch with the reality on ground in the state pertaining the inhuman treatment the workers are been subjected to. But since the commencement of the ill-conceived idea of sacking workers by the Fintiri led state government in Adamawa, the NLC leadership has refused to pick calls to make clarification on their continue silence while state government carried out anti people’s policies of sacking workers, the leadership of the union in Adamawa have since become a persona non grata in the eyes of the workers that they collect check-up dues from monthly.

“We await to see how the state government will go about payment of the minimum wage without first paying the promotion arrears of the workers that is more important than the current plan by the state government to pay a uniform 32000 wage to workers on grade level 7-8 in the state as 23600 is the current salary collected by wokers on grade level 8 in Adamawa state primary healthcare is unacceptable as paying 32000 will not also solve the problem.”

Editor’s Note: we await the response of Mr. Emmanuel Fashe, Adamawa State NLC Chairman as all effort to get his reaction prove abortive at press time.

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