The Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress have urged Inspector General of Police Olukayode Egbetokun to immediately withdraw police officers from Rivers State’s 23 local government council secretariats.
Following an emergency joint state administrative council meeting in Port Harcourt on Friday evening, the two unions expressed concern about the Inspector General of Police’s directive to his personnel to remain at the LG secretariats until a court determines on the local government matter.
In a joint statement issued following the meeting, State NLC Chairman Alex Agwanwor and his TUC counterpart Ikechukwu Onyefuru stated that workers had been refused access to the council for days, resulting in a loss of man hours.
The unions also supported Cliffor Paul, the state president of the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees, who issued a four-day ultimatum to the police to evacuate the councils or the union would gather its workers for a demonstration, claiming that organised labour is already prepared to take action.
The statement partly reads, “The councils-in-session commend the men and officers of the Nigeria Police Force on their pro-activeness in maintaining law and order in the heat of recent political upheavals.
“However, the councils-in-session frown seriously at the sealing of the 23 Local Government Council Secretariat by men and officers of the Nigeria Police Force for the reason of maintaining law and order, thereby locking out our members from performing their statutory duty.
“Given the actions of the Nigeria Policemen, the quantum of man-hour loss since the occupation of the security agencies across the 23 Local Government Councils is irrecoverable, and the attendant consequences of putting people off their jobs with no alternative means of engagement in society are far too weighty to contend with in the instant case.”
The statement added, “Consequently, the councils of both the NLC and TUC call on the Inspector General of Police to immediately direct the Commissioner of Police, Rivers State Command, to allow legitimate workers of the various local government councils to access their offices.
“More importantly, both councils of the NLC and TUC unanimously uphold the ultimatum issued by the NULGE for the Nigerian police to vacate and allow unfettered access of local government workers to access their offices without further delay.”
The union accused Chief Tony Okocha, the State Caretaker Committee Chairman of the All Progressives Congress in the state, of self-seeking in his request to declare a state of emergency in the state in response to the violence generated by the local government crisis.
“The councils-in-session unanimously condemn in strong terms the purported call for a state of emergency in Rivers State by some supposed political leaders of the state, which in all ramifications do not wish the people of the people of Rivers State well. While we appreciate people’s rights to self-opinion, it is also important not to allow self-centeredness to override our sense of reasoning.
“The entire workforce of Rivers State is hereby put on red alert for possible actions to protect and defend the interests of Rivers State workers.”
Recall that the police barricaded the council headquarters in response to the state’s crisis over the tenure of the local government chairman, which cost two lives.
A police officer and a member of a local vigilante group were killed during a demonstration in Eberi-Omuma, Omuma LGA, on Tuesday, with authorities claiming the decision to surround the area was to prevent further bloodshed.
