The Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress, have urged Inspector General of Police, IGP Olukayode Egbetokun, to immediately withdraw police officers from Rivers State’s 23 local government council secretariats.
Following an emergency joint state administrative council meeting in Port Harcourt Friday evening, the two unions expressed concern over the Inspector General of Police’s instruction to his personnel to remain at the LG secretariats until a court determines on the local government matter.
In a joint statement issued following the meeting, State NLC Chairman Alex Agwanwor and his TUC counterpart Ikechukwu Onyefuru stated that workers had been refused access to the council for days, resulting in a loss of man hours.
The unions also supported Cliffor Paul, the state President of the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees, who issued a four-day ultimatum to the police to evacuate the councils or the union would gather its members for a demonstration, claiming that organised labour is already prepared to take action.
The statement partly reads, “The councils-in-session commend the men and officers of the Nigeria Police force on its pro-activeness in maintaining law and order in the heat of recent political upheavals.
“However, the councils-in-session frowns seriously at the sealing of the 23 Local Government Councils Secretariat by men and officers of the Nigeria Police force for the reason of maintaining law and order thereby locking out our members from performing their statutory duty.
“Given the actions of the Nigeria Policemen, the quantum of man-hour loss since the occupation of the security agencies across the 23 Local Government Councils is irrecoverable and the attendant consequences of putting people off their job with no alternative means of engagement in the society are far too weighty to contend with in the instant case.”
The statement added, “Consequently, the councils of both NLC and TUC call on the Inspector General of Police to immediately direct the Commissioner of Police Rivers State Command to allow legitimate workers of the various Local Government Councils to access their offices.
“More importantly, both councils of NLC and TUC unanimously uphold the ultimatum issued by the NULGE for the Nigeria police to vacate and allow unfettered access of Local Government Workers to access their Offices without further delay.”
On the call for the declaration of a state of emergency in the state by the State Caretaker Committee Chairman of the All Progressives Congress in the state, Chief Tony Okocha due to the violence caused by the local government crisis, the union described it as self-seeking.
“The councils-in-session unanimously condemn in strong terms the purported call for a State of Emergency in Rivers State by some supposed political leaders of the State which in all ramifications do not wish Rivers State People well, while we appreciate people’s rights to self-opinion it is also important not to allow self-centeredness override our sense of reasoning.”
“The entire workers of Rivers State are hereby put on red alert of possible actions to protect and defend the interest of Rivers State workers.”
After the state-wide dispute over local government chairmen’s terms, which resulted in the deaths of two people, Nigerian police occupied the 23 local governments of the state.
The police said that the choice to blockade the councils was made to prevent more carnage after a police officer and a member of a local vigilante group were shot and killed on Tuesday during a demonstration in Eberi-Omuma in Omuma LGA of the state.
