The Nigeria Labour Congress has criticised state governors for abandoning their states and residing permanently in Abuja while their people struggle with economic hardship.
NLC President Joe Ajaero made this remark during a town hall meeting with workers at the NLC Secretariat in Lokoja, Kogi State. The meeting was part of the NLC leadership’s visit to the state to deliver and commission 10 Compressed Natural Gas buses for the state chapter, aimed at easing transportation difficulties for workers.
The event provided an opportunity for workers to present their concerns and demands, which the NLC leadership pledged to take up with the state government.
Ajaero lamented the increasing absence of governors from their states, noting that during visits to five different zones, only one governor had been available to meet with the delegation.
“However, there is a problem we are having in trends because most governors are now living permanently in Abuja. We have moved to about five zones, Kogi is about the fifth zone. We have met governors in only one state. Each time you go there, they are in Abuja and this is affecting governance,” Ajaero said.
He stressed that democracy should be felt at both federal and state levels, allowing citizens direct engagement with their leaders.
“I think we should be able to manage the center and the units so people will have the feeling of democracy, the dividend of democracy, so that people can talk to their leaders.
“So if we capture all these things, the information you are going to give us will be conditional if the governor is around. If he’s around, we will convey your information to him. If he’s not around, whosoever he’s going to send, we pass it to him.”
Ajaero highlighted Kogi State’s significance to the labour movement, noting that both Governor Usman Ododo and his deputy had been union leaders. He recalled that Ododo was an official of the NLC in Niger State, while his deputy previously served with the Nigeria Union of Teachers.
“So, we want to make this as a town hall meeting to listen to you to know what has been done and what has not been done properly, so we take it to them.
“To us, it is like homecoming. We want to come and interact with them to find out whether they are doing those things we are criticising others for.”
On the proscription of labour unions in state-owned tertiary institutions under the administration of former Governor Yahaya Bello, Ajaero expressed shock, insisting that no state government has the power to ban trade unions, as they fall under the Exclusive Legislative List.
“Let me say here, union practice falls under the Exclusive Legislative List in the Constitution. No governor has powers to ban them, you don’t ban what you don’t have control over. Unions are registered nationally by the registrar of trade unions. For administrative convenience, they may choose to have branches in states, so what are you now banning?”
Workers at the meeting disclosed that, for over a decade, labour unions in Kogi State Polytechnic, Kogi State University, State Colleges of Education, Technology, and Nursing had been proscribed by the state government.
Among other grievances, workers demanded the implementation of annual salary increases, provision of housing for workers, and the recruitment of more teachers in primary and junior secondary schools.
