The Nigeria Labour Congress, —NLC, members in Kaduna, Edo, and Cross River states had adhered to instructions, and ensured that they complied with the union’s two-day warning strike that commenced from today, Tuesday September 5. Recall that the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, had on Friday, September 1, announced the warning strike, in the bid to protest against the Federal Government’s refusal to tackle the challenges caused by the fuel subsidy removal.
Workers in both the Nigerian public and private sectors in Kaduna State had teamed up with their counterparts across the country to enforce the two-day nationwide strike. According to Channels News Television reports, the Kaduna State Secretariat, where majority of the ministries and other government agencies were located, had been securely shut leaving a lot of the offices, deserted.
The strike had additionally, affected the commercial activities in the state as all commercial banks and other financial institutions remained closed, leaving a lot of bank customers stranded. The same situation was also seen at the Kaduna State High Court where the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, JUSUN, shut the court premises and prevented their staff, litigants and legal practitioners from gaining access to the court premises.
Electricity supply in Kaduna had also been cut off after the withdrawal of services by the staff of Kaduna Electric. It is if note to mention that the National Union Of Electricity Workers, NUEE, had joined the two-day warning strike. The Kaduna State NLC chairman, Ayuba Suleiman, had cautioned just today, that the union would enforce an indefinite industrial action if the Federal Government fails to address the suffering of workers and other Nigerians due to the fuel subsidy scrap.
In Edo State, the NLC blocked access into the state high court premises in compliance with the warning strike, adjourning all petitions until Thursday, September 8. Cross River State workers in addition, participated in the nationwide industrial strike. Gregory Olayi, the NLC Chairman, had explained that the strike was a way of conveying the harsh economic consequences of the fuel subsidy removal on the people.
