NIGERIA
Labour Congress, NLC, yesterday, threatened to shut down all economic and
commercial activities in Sokoto State should Governor Aliyu Wamakko refuse to
apologise for allegedly flogging an officer of Power Holding Company of
Nigeria, PHCN, to a comma in public.
In a statement by NLC’s President, Mr.
Abdulwaheed Omar, the congress argued that the action of the governor was
unacceptable in any decent society, uncivilised and an undemocratic behaviour
least expected of anyone elected to serve the interests of the entire citizens
of the state.
NLC said the action of the governor was a
violation of the fundamental human rights of the PHCN worker and also exposed
the limit of the governor’s exposure to democratic ideals.
It called on Sokoto State House of Assembly
to take urgent steps to save the citizens from suffering the consequences of
the governor’s action.
It read in part: “Since the governor has
opted to ignore the union’s modest request for apology and consequently put the
whole state in total blackout, it is clear that his intentions were not just to
violate the rights of the PHCN worker but also to inflict deeper hardships on
the citizenry.
“By any standards, what the governor did
was not just barbaric, irresponsible but coming from a man of his political
standing, it also sends a disturbing signal to ordinary citizens who may decide
to follow the governor’s example by opting for jungle justice rather than
follow legal and constitutional procedures.
“A governor should behave differently from
a tout. A street fighter is not fit enough for any public office in a decent
country.
“We will invoke our collective slogan of An
Injury to One is an Injury to All.
“Congress is, therefore, putting every
worker in both the public and private sectors in Sokoto State on notice by
directing all unions to commence mobilisation towards a solidarity action by
the entire workers of the state against this barbaric act by the governor, if
he does not accede to the demand of the union to apologise.”