Several government facilities were shut down today across the country in compliance to the nationwide strike by Organised labour
In Delta a visit to government reveals that workers stayed away from work, schools, ministries, banks all shut down
At the Civil Service Secretariat in Benin City, the Edo State capital, union leaders, including the state NLC chairman, Mr Odion Olaye, locked out civil servants who had come to work.
The same scenario played out at the State High Court and the Edo State House of Assembly, where the gates locked.
In Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital, the NLC, TUC, and other affiliate bodies also joined the ongoing indefinite national industrial action as instructed by their national leadership.
Staff members of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company were stranded at the gate.
In a similar vein, the Katsina State chapters of the NLC and TUC joined the strike action, saying it would continue until the government at all levels wakes up to its responsibility.
The level of compliance across the state capital was seen to be widespread, with all public institutions, including the NLC Secretariat, withdrawing their services and all entrances remaining under lock and key.
In Rivers State, activities outside the Federal Secretariat in Port Harcourt showed skeletal services appeared to be ongoing, although many workers had yet to arrive at 10:30 am.
Some of the civil servants said they were unaware of the NLC strike and had not been given any directive to join in the industrial action.
However, the story was different at the headquarters of the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company where officials of the National Union of Electricity Employees locked the main gate and prevented workers and customers from gaining access to the offices.
Reacting to the development, the North-West Zonal Organising Secretary of the National Union of Electricity Employees, Bukat Barde, said the manhandling of the NLC president was an assault on the entire Nigerian workforce that should not be swept under the carpet.
He disclosed that the strike was total and indefinite until the Federal Government yielded to organised labour’s demands.
The Presidency, on Tuesday, criticised the nationwide strike of the NLC and TUC as “unwarranted”, arguing it is an attempt to blackmail the government.
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement, expressed dismay that the strike proceeded, despite a restriction order by the National Industrial Court.
“This decision by the NLC and TUC other than being an ego tripping move is clearly unwarranted. It is an attempt to blackmail the government by the leadership of the NLC,” the statement said.
“We are still at a loss as to why the NLC and TUC decided to punish a whole country of over 200million people over a personal matter involving the NLC President, Mr. Joe Ajaero, whose error of judgment led to assault on him in Owerri while he was planning to incite the workers in Imo State into a needless strike.”
