A day after shutting down electricity supply to Kaduna State, labour unions closed down government offices, including the State Secretariat over what they termed the anti-workers policy of Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai.
Addressing the striking workers, the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Comrade Ayuba Wabba accused El-Rufai of lying and misleading the people.
He said contrary to what the state government has been claiming those sacked have not been paid their entitlements.
He said even the 25,000 teachers the state government said it had employed after 21,000 have not been given a letter of permanent appointment, years after.
“This government has shown clearly that it is anti-people. After sacking people and denying them their entitlements, you still went ahead to implement a multiple hike in school fees. How are the parents going to cope.
“It should be noted that public schools are there so that the children of the poor can also have education, which is a right, not a privilege even in the constitution,” Wabba said.
The labour leader said the 49 associations that make up the workers’ organisation were present at the protests, including NULGE, contrary to statement credited to the Kaduna State Commissioner for Local Government.
He said they have not been invited for any meeting by the state government.
Meanwhile, the Kaduna State Government has affirmed that the conditions that compelled it to rightsize are not altered by the NLC’s campaign of economic and social sabotage.
“The NLC showed in 2017 that it has no interest in public welfare, going violent over 21,780 failed teachers who KDSG replaced with 25,000,” the government tweeted.
