Concerned Trade Unions in Ekiti State, comprising Artisans and
Commercial drivers, yesterday staged anti-workers’ protests in Ado
Ekiti, accusing the leadership of labour of taking N25 million bribe
to destabilise the Ayo Fayose-led government.
The protesters led by the Chairmen of Road Transport Employers’
Association of Nigeria, Com. Samuel Agbede and National Union of Road
Transport Workers, Com Clement Adekola, described the ongoing strike
declared by labour unions to press home for the payment of myriad of
outstanding benefits as politically motivated.
The protesters, who paraded placards of various inscriptions, massed
at the popular Fajuyi Park and marched to Ijigbo to shore up supports
for Fayose’s government.
The RTEAN Chairman expressed disappointment with the workers , saying
he expected the labour leaders to take a cue from Ondo, Oyo, Benue
and Osun States, who owe more than five months salaries without
the workers going on strike.
“The workers cannot afford to paralyse the state because Governor
Fayose has demonstrated transparency in the distribution of federal
allocations accruing to Ekiti. The labour leaders were part of the
negotiation that agreed that two-month allocations should be lumped up
to pay one month salary.
“But as we speak now, two months allocations can’t even pay one month
salary. The governor used March and April allocations to pay for
December and where do they expect him to get money to pay full salary
of about N2.6 billion monthly now?
“We expect them to show understanding. But we are beginning to see
that this strike has political undertone”, he alleged.
Agbede berated the labour unions for asking Fayose to spend the
internally generated revenue to pay workers’ salary together with
Federal allocations, urging them to desist from arrogating the state
to workers alone.
He, however, said the concerned unions would appeal to Fayose to use
the allocations left over to pay whatever percentage it could offer
to workers to alleviate their sufferings.
Lending his voice, his counterpart in NURTW added that they shouldn’t
expect Fayose to go and borrow money to pay salaries or in the
alternative stop all the ongoing projects, clarifying that “Ekiti
state belongs to both public and private sectors. So, they shouldn’t
see Ekiti as belonging to them alone.
“We even learnt from reliable sources that the labour leaders got a
sum of N25m to destabilize Ekiti. We want them to return to
negotiation table in the interest of our future”, he said.
Students, under the auspices of Federation of Ekiti State Students’
Union, in a statement signed by its President, Com. Peter Obayemi,
pleaded for understanding, saying Fayose had been paying regularly
before the country’s economy slid into recession.
“It was too bad that labour leaders kept silent when in spite of oil
windfall of over N46 billion received by immediate past government.
The government went on borrowing spree, taking over N30b commercial
loan and N25b bond”.