28th May, 2013
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Tuesday in Abuja decided to name its two labour houses in Lagos and Abuja after two of its departed leaders. NLC president Abdulwaheed Omar, who disclosed this at a press briefing, said the decision was taken at the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the congress.
He said the congress in session named its sub-secretariat in Lagos after its first leader, the late Pa Michael Imoudu.
“The congress has also renamed the national secretariat in Abuja Paschal Bafyau Labour House, after our former leader who died in 2012.
“Similarly, the NEC-in-session has also named the national secretariat’s auditorium after the union’s slain deputy general secretary, Comrade Oyediran Olaitan, who was killed on May 5, 2012.
Olaitan was working with Gov. Adams Oshiomhole of Edo on secondment from the NLC.
The NLC president said the congress called on state governors to create value around themselves by respecting the process and outcome of their forum’s election.
He said “the congress irrevocably stands for certain values it will not compromise for anything, and urged the governors to restore dignity to their office.
“We are opposed to impunity at all levels and the undermining of national security and unity. We have respect for process and its outcome. We stand for justice.’’
He said NLC’s NEC also called on the governors to “get back to work and stop overheating the polity’’, advising them not to jeopardise Nigerians’ hard-earned democracy.
The labour leader urged the Nigerian Governors’ Forum to quickly fix whatever must have gone wrong as they are custodians of the people’s mandate and grand beneficiaries of the nation’s democracy.
Omar said the NEC also called on government to ensure adequate power supply to meet national needs.
“This should be through the design and execution of seamless transition in its power reform programme,’’ he said.
On security, the NLC president said the congress re-affirmed its belief in the sovereignty of Nigeria and supported the declaration of state of emergency in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.
He said everything possible should be done to protect the civilian population, with channels for dialogue with the Boko Haram insurgents kept open.
On minimum wage for teachers, Omar said the congress would not fail to mobilise workers in all the states which had not paid the 27.5 per cent enhanced allowance for teachers.
“The congress gives its unalloyed support to the proposed action on the matter by members of the National Union of Teachers,’’ he said. (NAN)