Kaduna Govt Declares NLC President, Others, Wanted

Kaduna Govt Declares NLC President, Others, Wanted

The Kaduna State government has declared the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Ayuba Wabba wanted.

The state Governor, Nasir Elrufai announced this on his verified Twitter handle @elrufai on Tuesday morning.

He said the NLC president and others labour leaders are declared wanted for economic sabotage and attacks on public infrastructure in Kaduna State under the Miscellaneous Offences Act.

He called on anyone that knows the whereabouts of the NLC President to contact the Kaduna State Ministry of Justice promising to reward the person handsomely.

Wabba had earlier on Monday led workers in the state on a warning strike following the recent disengagement of over seven thousand civil servants at the state and local governments by the state government.

The protest resulted in a power outage, shut down of the airport, and fuel queues in various parts of the state as aviation workers shut down operations of Kaduna International Airport (KIA) in solidarity.

Wabba leads the NLC protest in Kaduna on Monday, May 17, 2021.

Other affiliate unions including the National Union of Petroleum Employees of Nigeria (NUPENG), National Union of Electricity Employees of Nigeria (NUEE), National Union Of Textile, Tailoring and Garment Workers of Nigeria also joined the protest.

The Kaduna State government on Monday condemned the protest.

In an interview with Channels Television, the Head of Service, Baritu Mohammed said the workers are sabotaging economic activities in the state.

“What is happening now in Kaduna is not an industrial action but a campaign of social and economic sabotage. Kaduna State government is functioning despite illegal attempts to lock our offices, hospitals, and schools. The schools are opened, our offices and hospitals are opened.

“NLC is aware that inflicting pain on citizens, locking hospitals and public institutions, shutting down electricity will not change or affect the decision of Kaduna State government,” Mohammed said on Monday.

The Kaduna State government also in a tweet on Monday described the action of the NLC workers as “unlawful.”

“Some unlawful actions by the NLC: shutting down electricity, coercion and restraints of personal freedom, trespass into public facilities and denial of access to healthcare for several of our citizens. They closed several hospitals and chased away the patients.

“General hospitals in Kawo, Tudun-Wada, Kafanchan, Giwa, Rigasa, Kakuri and Sabon Tasha were illegally locked. They also shut rural hospitals and primary health centres in Kwoi, Turunku and other locations across the state,” Kaduna state governor tweeted.