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Protests
in Asaba, Ilorin, Maiduguri over Labour bill
� UN,
ILO may sanction Nigeria
By Chesa
Chesa (Abuja), Dele Moses (Ilorin), Haruna
Abdul (Maiduguri)
Tunke-Aye Bisina (Asaba) and
Victor Ebimomi (Lagos)
Nigeria
has been alerted over imminent sanctions that could be imposed on it by the
United Nations should the contentious Labour reform bill be passed as drafted
by Aso Rock.
The
alert came on Thursday as workers protested the bill in Asaba and Maiduguri but
were hardly allowed to voice their opposition to it on the streets of Ilorin.
The
warning was sounded by the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC),
Adams Oshiomhole, who urged the government to be wary of the strong
displeasure over the bill already expressed by the International Labour
Organisation (ILO), an arm of the UN.
He
told newsmen in Abuja that condemnation of the bill by representatives of the
ILO should not be under-estimated. They did so at the Senate public hearing
held on Wednesday and previously through other avenues.
�The
ILO has condemned the bill and will still speak against it if it is passed,
and being a collection of member states of the UN and an arm of the UN, it
would be a situation of Nigeria against the rest of the civilised world,� he
said.
Oshiomhole
recalled that the ILO had sanctioned Nigeria when a past military regime
proscribed the leadership of the NLC, stressing that the sanction then would
be mild compared to what could happen now if the entire NLC was proscribed.
Said
he: �But I am hopeful that members of the National Assembly will see beyond
today�s tension and bitterness and as statesmen and women, see the need to
defend and expand Nigeria�s democracy and save our international image from
damage.
�What
is on trial is Nigeria's democracy. Nigerians deserve an open space and that
is what NLC wants to defend. We have not derived any personal benefits,
rather we have risked everything.
�I
have absolute faith in this country and we must all play our part. I am happy
to contribute my own quota to the sustenance of democracy.
�The
lawmakers should remember that nobody will be in government forever. Laws you
make today can affect you somehow tomorrow�.
He
gave an example of the Electoral Act, which the National Assembly passed
despite the fact that �it made rigging easier and winning petitions harder.
Many of the lawmakers eventually became victims of the Act as they were
rigged out and could not see their petitions through�.
His
views were echoed by Labour activist Femi Aborisade who said the bill gives
too much power to the minister of labour. Besides, he described most of its
provisions as undemocratic and warned members of the National Assembly to
tread softly on the bill as they would be failing in their responsibilities
to the masses if they passed it.
Protesting
the bill, the Delta State Council of the NLC demonstrated round the state
capital Asaba, led by the state NLC Chairman Mike Okeme.
The
workers moved from one government office to another carrying placards to
denounce President Olusegun Obasanjo�s move to destabilise Labour movement in
the country.
A
mild drama ensued at the state Assembly complex as they were barred from
entering it by security personnel at the gate.
Okeme
denounced the action of the house leadership, saying: "We are not happy
that the speaker has locked out us. Well, we are going, that is not democracy
or does democracy not allow for opposing views�.
But
acting Governor Benjamin Elue and Secretary to the State Government Emmanuel
Uduaghan broke away from the weekly State Executive Council meeting to meet
with the protesters.
The
rally was peaceful in Maiduguri, during which Borno State NLC Chairman Garba
Karasuwa Ngamdu said the bill is a calculated attempt to emasculate the
Labour movement �currently the only viable opposition� to the Federal
Government.
�The
NLC today is the only veritable organ that stands out as watch dog against
this administration which sees her self as an octopus, that has succeeded in
fostering a one party state in the country".
Rebutting
Obasanjo�s claim that the old Labor Act was product of the military hence its
assumed undemocratic nature, Ngamdu who was represented by the state scribe
of the NLC, Zaka A. Shalangwa, said the NLC is the most well organised,
transparent and democratic organisation in the country "as elections and
freedom of membership have always been open without any malpractice as
obtained in the present political set up".
But
the protest took a different dimension in Ilorin where anti-riot policemen
muzzled it.
They
had as early as 7.00 a.m. taken positions at the surroundings of the state
secretariat of the NLC in the city where the members of the congress were
scheduled to converge at 9.00 a.m. for the rally, thus preventing the
unionists from holding the rally.
State
NLC Chairman Emmanuel Ayeoribe quoted Deputy Commissioner of Police Solomon
Olusegun as saying that police were acting on orders from above.
He
said members of the congress decided to suspend the rally not because they
were frightened by the action of the police but because �we don�t want to
match evil for evil�.
He
enjoined the workers to go back to their various offices peacefully and to
continue to pray for the NLC in its campaign against unfavourable policies of
the government on workers and on Labour union�s affairs.
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