Tag: Rivers State Workers’ Salaries Over Wike-Governor Fubara Rift

The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajero, has issued a warning regarding the ongoing political crisis in Rivers State, declaring that the union will not tolerate the continued withholding of funds allocated for the payment of workers’ salaries and benefits due to the ongoing political crisis in the state. Ajaero made this statement following the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where he expressed concerns over the negative impact of the political situation on workers in the state. The NLC president condemned the ongoing political turmoil in the state and the recent court order that seeks to block the disbursement of federally allocated revenue to Rivers State. He stated that the state’s workers should not become victims of the political standoff, as they rely on their salaries to meet their basic needs.   Ajero further called for immediate intervention to ensure that the funds meant for the payment of salaries and other benefits be released without delay.   He made it clear that the NLC will not accept any situation that unjustly penalizes workers, warning that any continued withholding of these funds will not be tolerated. Ajero said, "This punitive move, under the guise of legal recourse, may effectively cripple the state’s capacity to meet its obligations to workers and the wider population.   “Such a development is nothing short of an attack on the rights and welfare of the people of Rivers State and a dangerous precedent that could destabilize governance in any other state. “The NLC stands in solidarity with the workers and people of Rivers State. We demand an immediate resolution that allows the state to continue to have unfettered access to its rightful revenue allocations.   “Nigerian workers will not stand waiting while their livelihoods are threatened by political maneuvering and vindictive actions.   "We are not interested in the politics of who is right or wrong but only in protecting the interests of workers and the people.”   "We must learn to separate ‘politicking’ from existential issues as politics that hurts workers and the people cannot be the best for our nation. The Congress warns that the failure of the various institutions and actors to rein in themselves may lead to our escalating our response,” Ajero added. SaharaReporters recently reported that a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja had restrained the Central Bank of Nigeria from releasing financial allocations to Rivers State Government until a lawful appropriation act was passed by a validly constituted House of Assembly.   Justice Joyce Abdulmalik who delivered the judgment in response to a suit filed by a faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly, loyal to a former governor of the state, Nyesom Wike and led by Martins Amaewhule, held that the decision by Governor Siminalayi Fubara to present the state’s 2024 Appropriation Bill to a four-member Assembly, that was not properly constituted, should not be allowed to stand. The court order essentially put a hold on any further funding to the Rivers State Government until the necessary legislative steps are taken.       The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja earlier affirmed Amaewhule as the recognised Speaker of the state House of Assembly.   Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court Abuja had also nullified the N800 billion budget passed by the Edison Ehie-led faction of the Assembly and signed into law by Governor Fubara. On December 13, 2023, in the heat of the protracted political crisis rocking the oil-rich state and the demolition of the Assembly Complex, Fubara presented the 2024 budget proposal of N800 billion to the Edison Ehie-led faction of the Assembly. The presentation was done at the Government House in Port Harcourt, following the demolition of the Assembly Complex by the state government and after a court restrained Ehie’s contender, Martins Amaewhule, from using the Assembly Complex. Ehie and the other pro-Fubara lawmakers passed the budget estimates and the governor signed the bill into law.