The Head of Service in Ekiti, Dr Olugbenga Faseluka, on Wednesday appealed to members of ASUU and health workers in the state to shelve their proposed strike.
Faseluka made the appeal while addressing members of Ekiti council of Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) who staged a peaceful rally to the Governor’s Office in Ado-Ekiti.
He urged the workers to partner with the state government in its resolve to enhance security in the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the workers had threatened to embark on strike following the recent kidnap of some civil servants.
Faseluka described the strike option as panicky, unprofessional, unwholesome and counter-productive.
He argued that the development called for incisiveness and collaboration on the part of all stakeholders.
Faseluka expressed regrets that many of the victims were civil servants in academic institutions and health workers.
He gave an assurance that the state government was sparing no effort at ensuring the safe release of those held hostage.
Preliminary investigations, he said, revealed that none of the victims was kidnapped at the workplace or during work hours.
He also said that it may be hasty to conclude that only certain professions were being targeted.
“The state governor, Mr Ayo Fayose, has been working round the clock since he assumed office to ensure adequate security for the people of the state.
“The governor instituted a Security Trust Fund which is a joint security initiative among the military, the police and other security agencies,’’ he said.
Earlier, the state Chairman of Medical and Health Workers Union, Mr Raymond Ade-Adesanmi, said the rally was to express displeasure over the kidnap of health workers in the state.
Ade-Adesanmi, who is also the state Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, said workers could not perform their duties over fears of being kidnapped.
He said the health workers would be forced to embark on industrial action if the trend continued.
The protesting health workers had carried placards with various inscriptions condemning kidnapping in the state.