File: Labour unionists on the march

The Executive Council of the Nasarawa State Chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has impeached its embattled Chairman, Abdullahi Adeka.

A statement signed by Ahmed Naibi, the Secretary, said that Adeka was removed for announcing the suspension of the strike, immediately after his reinstatement.

It said that the “surprising” action violated the resolutions reached at the NLC headquarters as a condition for his reinstatement.

“In the meeting held at our national secretariat in Abuja on May 23, we all agreed that Adeka must sustain the strike. That was a condition for his reinstatement.

“We also agreed that his mother union, the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria, and all other affiliates of the NLC, must join the strike to maximise its effect.

“But, instead of sustaining and widening the strike, Adeka announced its suspension, a day after he was reinstated,” the statement said.

The statement declared that Adeka, by that action, had demonstrated that he was not a trustworthy leader.

“We have resolved that he stands impeached; Bala Umaru, his deputy, is now the substantive Chairman of NLC in Nasarawa State,” the statement declared.

It said that the strike action would continue and advised workers to await further directive from the new leadership.

Some executive council members, who spoke with NAN, accused Adeka of “clearly taking sides with the government”, with many describing his action as “shocking”.

Adeka had been suspended from office on May 21, when he suddenly declared an end to the strike without due consultation.

He was reinstated on May 23, after the headquarters intervened, but went on air on May 24, to announce the end of the strike without consulting with other members of the executive council.

The workers have been on strike since May 12, over the non payment of their salaries.

Meanwhile, as activities grind to a halt in Nasarawa, following the strike, a group – the Wakma Progressive Forum – has called for a truce.

Its President, Mr Thomas Auta, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lafia on Thursday that government and organised labour must seek some common understanding “in the interest of the common man”.

“The two groups must sit down and iron out their differences; schools, hospitals, markets and offices are shut down. We cannot shut down the state for this long, especially in view of the current economic recession,” he said.

Auta said that the lingering strike was a setback to the development of the state.

He said that the educational sector was worst affected as students, who were supposed to be in schools, had been idling away at home and on the streets.

Auta said that the economic loss arising from the strike action could not be quantified.

“The losses are already massive; allowing the strike to linger further will only worsen an already bad situation,” he said.

He said that there was no issue that could not be resolved with dialogue, and appealed to both government and organised labour to make sacrifice towards ending the impasse.

“Government should make sincere commitment to meeting some of the workers’ demand, given the current economic realities.

“Labour, on its part, should show some understanding by relaxing some of its demands pending when the economy will improve,” Auta added.

He urged other stakeholders to intervene toward resolving the issues.