May-Day: Hoodlums stop Ebonyi Labour Day rally; Gov. Umahi suspends controversial pension law

  By Freedom Ajala, Abakaliki

Armed bandits Monday, disrupted a rally organized by a faction of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, to commemorate Workers’ Day in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, forcing many to take to their heels.

The Comrade Ikechukwu Nwafor-led faction of the NLC had staged its rally which was massively attended by the members of some affiliate unions loyal to him at the right wing of the entrance to the Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki (FETHA 1) during which it presented the address of the National Chairman of the NLC, Comr. Ayuba Wabba to those present.

It was gathered that shortly after the affiliate union’s leaders had presented their addresses to their members and were having some light refreshments, a group of unidentified armed men said to be numbering about 30 hit the venue allegedly with various weapons including guns and machetes shooting sporadically into the air before ordering workers out of the venue.

They also damaged some chairs and canopies used for the rally.  

Comr. Nwafor had earlier presented the address of the NLC National Chairman, Comr. Ayuba Wabba to the gathering wherein he had harped on the new minimum wage increment.

Read Comr. Nwafor, “The technical committee has recently submitted its report to government and we call on government without any further delay to constitute the tripartite minimum wage negotiating committee with a time lag to submit a new minimum wage for the Nigerian workers”.

Meanwhile, the May Day march-past was held at the Abakaliki township stadium by workers under the Comr. Leornard Nkah-led faction which comprised mainly NULGE and NUT members.

In his address in Abakaliki, Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State said he would suspend the controversial pension law of the state.

“We are brothers and sisters. My target as governor is to better Ebonyi state and on that note we are going to suspend the pension law and all your desires would be taken into consideration.

“And in the month of May every deduction made in the name of the pension law will be refunded to you, it is your duty to sit down and articulate what you want the new pension law to be, I will not interfere,”  he assured.

Governor umahi further assured that his government would continue to pay pension to retired workers and release the accumulated promotion of workers and leave allowance.

“From the month June what we will do is to continue to pay the leave allowance both for workers from the local government and state”, he said.

He however stated that 1 billion naira would be drawn from state and local government coffers to offset the accumulated gratuity in the state.