- Clash with civil servants in govt offices
From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
In a dramatic showdown for a second consecutive day, workers and pensioners in Oyo State, under the umbrella of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC), and the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) have continued their protest, causing the shutdown of the State Secretariat at Agodi, Ibadan.
Under the watch of labour leaders, protesters stormed the secretariat, blocking its entrance and disrupting government activities. Some civil servants were beaten and locked in their offices, further intensifying the chaos greeting the alleged government’s failure to remit money deducted from the salaries of the workers to appropriate quarters, including cooperative societies.
The labour leaders parked their cars to block the gates, just as they discouraged workers from going into the state secretariat to resume the day’s work and join the protest. But some workers narrowly had access to the premises of the secretariat with their legs from the gate at Fire Service Headquarters, close to Agodi Gardens.
The protesters are demanding the implementation of several requests, including payment of salary deductions, palliatives for workers, upward review of pension allowances, payment of leave bonuses, gratuities for retirees, and promotion letters for the years 2021 and 2022.
One civil servant, Dare Olaniyan said: “I came inside the secretariat premises to pick up my belongings, in the office. All attempts to explain this to the protesters fell on deaf ears, as they launched an attack on me, for no just cause.
“But rather than settle the issue amicably, the NLC members decided to go physical, engaging me and others with me in a fight.”
The Executive Assistant to the Governor on Security, Mr Sunday Odukoya, a retired commissioner of police, who drove into the scene, immediately intervened to put a stop to the violence, stating that beating civil servants in the name of protest is against the law.
Amidst this ongoing standoff, the workers and pensioners have continued their relentless struggle for justice, urging Governor Seyi Makinde to personally address their grievances.