The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)
has directed its members to embarrass Chris Ngige, minister of labour and
employment, as well as members of his family.
The labour union also declared
that a national protest will hold in Abuja on Monday to express displeasure
over the alleged use of thugs on its members who were on a peaceful
demonstration.
NLC had accused Ngige of
sponsoring an attack on protesters had picketed the minister’s Abuja residence.
They had been protesting an
alleged exclusion of a member of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund
(NSITF) from the board.
The minister had initially
refused to inaugurate the NSITF board following allegations of “monumental
fraud”.
Addressing journalists after a
central working committee meeting on Thursday, Ayuba Wabba, NLC president, said
Ngige has no right to change the appointment made by the president on the basis
that he never recommended Frank Kokori to head the NSITF board.
“He is not fit to be a minister.
He has no reason to be called the minister of labour. He is a lord of his own
and therefore instead of protecting us, he is against us. Therefore we have
nothing to do with him under the circumstance,” he said.
“NLC has sent messages to all
workers in the 163 countries who are members of the ITUC to embarrass the
minister and members of his family anywhere they are seen, especially at
airports where workers operate.
“The real reason he is opposed to
Chief Kokori was that the veteran labour leader cannot be compromised. Since
the minister has been talking about the issue of corruption in the NSITF, the
government should put in place a judicial commission of enquiry to investigate
the agency so as to unravel who the actual corrupt persons are.
“So, we are demanding that the
Board, headed by Kokori, be inaugurated and all the thugs who attacked us in
the full glare of security agents be investigated and prosecuted.
“The CWC decided to embark on a
national protest on Monday, May 13, in Abuja against the brutalisation of its
members during the peaceful protest.
“As minister of labour, he knows
that there is a clear provision of the law on picketing, lockouts and even
strike action and therefore for him to have instead of addressing the issues,
descended so low to the extent of using thugs to attack workers who were on a
peaceful conduct of the protest, is something that is less than desirable and
is anti-workers.”
However, the minister, through a
statement by Nwachukwu Obidiwe, his special assistant on media, denied inviting
thugs to manhandle protesting workers who blocked the entrance to his residence
in Abuja on Wednesday.
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