The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has declared solidarity with striking workers in Osun State, calling on the federal government to immediately release statutory allocations due to the state’s 30 local government councils.
The congress said the continued withholding of the funds was unjustifiable, warning that the action had undermined governance at the grassroots level and inflicted considerable hardship on local government workers and residents.
The NLC, in a statement signed by its acting general-secretary, Comrade Benson Upah, said the federal government should not use its position to disregard judicial decisions or intimidate state institutions in a democratic society.
The labour centre commended the striking workers for maintaining peaceful conduct during the industrial action and urged them to sustain the approach throughout the protest.
The organised labour in the state commenced a three-day strike on Monday, 9 November, following unresolved demands for the release of the local government allocations. The strike, which began at midnight on 8 November, is scheduled to end at midnight on 11 November.
The NLC maintained that the continued failure to release the allocations had adversely affected the operations of local government councils, with wider consequences for service delivery and workers’ welfare.
It argued that there was no justification for the continued withholding of the funds, insisting that the federal government must respect the rule of law and comply with judicial decisions rather than selectively determining which court pronouncements to obey.
The congress also warned against intimidation and political pressure in resolving disagreements between different levels of government, stressing that democratic governance requires respect for constitutional institutions and the rule of law.
The statement reads, “We express solidarity with the striking workers of Osun State in pursuit of the release of the withheld local government funds and urge the federal government authorities to release those funds without further delay.
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The non-release of these funds has caused considerable damage to governance at the local government council level with collateral implications.”
“There is no justification whatsoever for the continued seizure of these funds other than to prove the point that the federal government is above the law.
However, we do not need this level of intimidation or arm-twisting in a democracy.
The federal government cannot cherry-pick which court decisions to obey and which to ignore.
We commend the Osun workers for conducting themselves with utmost decorum in prosecuting this action, and we urge them to keep it so… always peaceful.”
