For the second time, the crucial meeting between Ogun State Government and the state chapter of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) held yesterday ended in deadlock.
The meeting which was held at the governor’s office, Oke Mosan, Abeokuta lasted for hours and had in attendance the Governor Ibikunle Amosun, his deputy, Prince Segun Adesegun, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Barr. Taiwo Adeoluwa and other stakeholders mainly from the finance and budget departments.
The meeting was fixed to continue from where it stopped inconclusively on Monday and it was held at the instance of the labour over some issues relating to their allowances running into billions of naira.
Speaking on behalf of other labour bodies in the state at a press conference held at Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Secretariat in Abeokuta yesterday, the state chairman of Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Seyi Adebanjo, accompanied by chairmen of both the NLC and Joint Negotiating Committee, Comrade Akeem Ambali and Comrade Sunday Adeegbe respectively, described the meeting with the state government as unimpressive.
The labour leaders berated the immediate past governor of the state, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, for reneging on his pledge to clear all the outstanding allowances his administration owed the workers in the state.
The labour leaders vowed to go on strike if the incumbent government failed to address their problems.
While disclosing the outcome of the meeting with the state government, Adebanjo said, “It was still the same stories; all our demands were not met by the state government. Before the advent of this government, in fairness to him, all the wild promises made by the past governor – that he would not leave the state without paying all the money – were not kept.”
Speaking on the issue of minimum wage, Adebanjo said that if the government contravened the constitution, then it would face? the penalty.
“An act of parliament is supposed to be obeyed by every citizen within the geographical set-up; that is what we are saying.
“All the people in involved? monetary matters in Nigeria have said the governors can pay. Revenue Allocation and Fiscal Commission and Wages commission have maintained that the states have enough resources to pay the new minimum wage; why all these hullaballu now,” he wondered.
He later threatened that if the state government failed to meet their demands, they would have to act.
“The language that government always understand at all levels is called strike,” he noted.
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