Don’t Politicise Workers, Oni Warns NLC Leader

Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti

Former Governor of Ekiti State and Social Democratic Party (SDP) governorship candidate in the June 18, 2022, poll, Segun Oni, has warned the leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) against politicising the civil service ahead of the poll.
The NLC boss had on April 7 at a programme said the Ekiti workers were grateful to Fayemi and would in return vote for the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Biodun Oyebanji, to win the coming election.
The former governor stated this in Ado Ekiti yesterday in a statement issued by a pro-Oni Campaign Organisation group, Ekiti Build Back Better (EBBB), challenging the NLC state Chairman, Mr. Olatunde Kolapo, on his alleged support for the candidate of the APC, Biodun Oyebanji.
Oni, who reacted through the spokesman of EBBB, Idowu Adelusi, asked the NLC leader to be bold enough to list the gains of the Governor Kayode Fayemi-led administration to the workers since October 16, 2018, when the APC government came into being.
He said: “Is it the sack of 2,000 workers employed into the civil service in 2018 or the sack of 400 workers employed into the civil, teaching and local government services in 2016, out of which less than one-third was reinstated eight months after that NLC boss considered a benefit?
“Or are we talking about the 700 staff of Ekiti State University (EKSU) employed in 2016 and sacked by the university on the instruction of the Fayemi-led government? Is it the promotion of some workers since 2019 without financial backing till date that is a good deed by the government?
“Has the NLC boss forgotten the non-implementation of promotion given to workers in 2017, 2018 and 2019, and the non-implementation of leave bonus of 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 payments?
“There is also non-implementation of minimum wage across board and the withholding of CONHESS allowance for health workers.
“The monthly cooperative deductions have not been remitted to various cooperative societies for the past four months, so that contributors can access their money without hindrance.
“Above all, the APC government, which the NLC boss is praising, owes the workers seven months unpaid salaries and the pensioners many months of unpaid allowances and gratuities.”
Meanwhile, Oni has warned the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and APC  against resorting to violence during the election, saying he has it on good authority that the two parties were planning mayhem during the election.
He also advised the leaderships of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies to resist any bribe temptation from any of the two dominant parties and allow the will of the people to prevail in the next poll.
“We have it on good authority that the two parties were planning  to use party agents and INEC ad hoc staff from neighboring states like Osun, Ondo, Kogi, and Kwara, which incidentally are all APC states, and would be massively funded to serve their best interests,” he alleged.