Sen. Sani endorses shut down of Kaduna today by NLC/TUC
KADUNA – Senator Shehu Sani (APC, Kaduna
Central) yesterday encouraged the Nigeria
Labour Congress , NLC and the Trade Union
Congress, TUC, to go ahead with today’s planned
shutdown of Kaduna over what he and Labour
agreed where undue interference in Labour
matters and punishing policies of Governor
Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state towards workers.
Sani, who joined politics by din of being a
human right activist, gave his nod to Labour
when Union leaders from the six Local
Government Areas, LGAs, of his constituency
visited him in his home, on what they said was a
save-our-soul mission from their plight under
the regime of the present state government.
Addressing the unionists, who had informed him
about a mass rally planned today, Sani said: “I
have carefully listened to your complains and
oral petition and your planned mass action
tomorrow (today) and I want to say
unambiguously that I am 100% in your support.
“The issues you raised are true and very
germane. The issue you raised are the true
precarious plight of the Nigerian worker,
especially in Kaduna State.
I am particularly disturbed by the position of
people in power that came into office with the
promise of change. They were voted into office
to make condition of the masses and the
Nigerian worker better.
But today, we are living in reality of failure of
that promise.
“If we speak truth to power and created a
change of government, then power needs to
speak truth to us. There is no doubt the
economy is facing challenges.
But, instead of governors embarking on white
elephant project, the salary of workers must
come first. Workers salary must come first
before road construction, street light, bridges,
housing estates, amusement parks etc etc.
Workers salary must come first before any
physical and immaterial projects.
“As you plan your mass rally, I stand by you. Any
government that is against the issue of
unionism, that government is anti-people.
Workers are the backbone of every society and
of every revolutionary change. Anybody that is
standing for the division of workers union, is
moving towards the persecution of workers.
And any worker who rejects his union identity
card is making himself vulnerable to
persecution, retrenchment and is under the
mercy of the whims and caprices of those in
power.
“Nigerian workers are the most important
segment of Nigerian society.
The Nigerian Union of Local Government
Employees, the NLC, TUC, NUT must come
together and defend the interest of its
members, that is why I support your planned
action.
“Any law, any Act and decree that subverts the
fundamental rights and interest of Nigerian
workers, disobey that law”, he said.
Speaking earlier, the leader of the delegation,
comrade Yahaya Baban Kumbo, told the
Senator that they had come to inform him that
there was no time that their members had gone
through the hardship they were undergoing.
He said that some of them had not received
salary since June last year, and that even those
who got paid were never sure if they would get
the next salary, aside from some unexplained
deductions in their monthly take home.
“Today, we don’t know our fate. And now we are
told to decide whether we want to belong to our
unions of not. That is why we have come to you
on a save-our-soul visit so that you can help us
talk people in power about our plight. And I
want to inform you that we shall all be moving
from our local governments areas to Kaduna for
a mass rally to call attention of everyone to our
situation”, he said.
It could be recalled that last Saturday, the
National secretariats of the NLC and the TUC
had addressed the press in Kaduna and
announced that all workers in the state would
troop out for a mass rally today against what
they said was undue interference in labour
issues and sundry matters by the government of
Kaduna state.
Central) yesterday encouraged the Nigeria
Labour Congress , NLC and the Trade Union
Congress, TUC, to go ahead with today’s planned
shutdown of Kaduna over what he and Labour
agreed where undue interference in Labour
matters and punishing policies of Governor
Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state towards workers.
Sani, who joined politics by din of being a
human right activist, gave his nod to Labour
when Union leaders from the six Local
Government Areas, LGAs, of his constituency
visited him in his home, on what they said was a
save-our-soul mission from their plight under
the regime of the present state government.
Addressing the unionists, who had informed him
about a mass rally planned today, Sani said: “I
have carefully listened to your complains and
oral petition and your planned mass action
tomorrow (today) and I want to say
unambiguously that I am 100% in your support.
“The issues you raised are true and very
germane. The issue you raised are the true
precarious plight of the Nigerian worker,
especially in Kaduna State.
I am particularly disturbed by the position of
people in power that came into office with the
promise of change. They were voted into office
to make condition of the masses and the
Nigerian worker better.
But today, we are living in reality of failure of
that promise.
“If we speak truth to power and created a
change of government, then power needs to
speak truth to us. There is no doubt the
economy is facing challenges.
But, instead of governors embarking on white
elephant project, the salary of workers must
come first. Workers salary must come first
before road construction, street light, bridges,
housing estates, amusement parks etc etc.
Workers salary must come first before any
physical and immaterial projects.
“As you plan your mass rally, I stand by you. Any
government that is against the issue of
unionism, that government is anti-people.
Workers are the backbone of every society and
of every revolutionary change. Anybody that is
standing for the division of workers union, is
moving towards the persecution of workers.
And any worker who rejects his union identity
card is making himself vulnerable to
persecution, retrenchment and is under the
mercy of the whims and caprices of those in
power.
“Nigerian workers are the most important
segment of Nigerian society.
The Nigerian Union of Local Government
Employees, the NLC, TUC, NUT must come
together and defend the interest of its
members, that is why I support your planned
action.
“Any law, any Act and decree that subverts the
fundamental rights and interest of Nigerian
workers, disobey that law”, he said.
Speaking earlier, the leader of the delegation,
comrade Yahaya Baban Kumbo, told the
Senator that they had come to inform him that
there was no time that their members had gone
through the hardship they were undergoing.
He said that some of them had not received
salary since June last year, and that even those
who got paid were never sure if they would get
the next salary, aside from some unexplained
deductions in their monthly take home.
“Today, we don’t know our fate. And now we are
told to decide whether we want to belong to our
unions of not. That is why we have come to you
on a save-our-soul visit so that you can help us
talk people in power about our plight. And I
want to inform you that we shall all be moving
from our local governments areas to Kaduna for
a mass rally to call attention of everyone to our
situation”, he said.
It could be recalled that last Saturday, the
National secretariats of the NLC and the TUC
had addressed the press in Kaduna and
announced that all workers in the state would
troop out for a mass rally today against what
they said was undue interference in labour
issues and sundry matters by the government of
Kaduna state.
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