- Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) planned to withdraw members if court ruling on allocations harms welfare
- Emergency meeting in Port Harcourt led to strong condemnation of the court's judgment
- Chairman Alex Agwanwo, emphasised the judgment's lack of empathy and potential for widespread suffering
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has announced that it will pull its members from their roles entirely if the Federal High Court’s ruling, which restricts the Central Bank of Nigeria from allocating funds to Rivers State, adversely affects its members' well-being.
The Rivers State Council of the NLC made this decision during an emergency meeting in Port Harcourt on Thursday, October 31 which was attended by labour leaders.
NLC chairman criticises court ruling stopping Rivers allocations
Following the meeting, Alex Agwanwo, the Chairman of the NLC in the state, spoke to the press, expressing the council's disapproval of the court ruling that prevents the allocation to the state.
He said, “Yesterday, there was a court judgement stopping the state allocation. As a state council, we have looked at the issues. We condemn that judgment.
“The judgement lacks a human face. The judgement lacks empathy. The judge did not take the citizens and workers of Rivers State into consideration before giving the judgment.
“Everybody knows what taking allocation away from a state will look like. It will put the state into suffering. It will disrupt governance in a state because governance will not take place without fund.”
NLC Council labels court ruling as anti-development
Agwanwo stated that the council reviewed the court's decision and determined that the judge failed to take into account the interests of all the state's residents, labelling the ruling as anti-development.
The labour leader expressed that the judgment lacked compassion and consideration for human impact, emphasising that workers would suffer significantly as a result.
According to Agwanwo, the ruling will hinder governance and project execution in the state, as he pointed out that governance cannot succeed without proper allocations.
He called on the court to overturn the judgment, stating that if the ruling impacts the welfare of its members, the NLC would be left with no choice but to withdraw its members from service.
Agwanwo urges judges to prioritise public welfare in future decisions
Agwanwo said, “It will affect the workers in the state and at the local government levels. Even the private sector doing business in the state will also be affected.
“For us as a state council, we will not sit down and watch so we are calling on the judges that going forward they should put the masses into consideration.
“There is no politician in the state that does not have a sister or brother working in the state. If they seize the allocation are you going to be paying them?
“We condemn this judgement and we are saying whatever court that will take up this matter should reverse it. If this will affect the well-being of our members we will have no option than to withdraw the service of our members,” Agwanwo stated.
NLC leader Ajaero slams FG, calls for an end to frequent petrol price increases
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) demanded immediate reversal of the latest petrol price hike.
Labour President, Joe Ajaero criticised the government for repeatedly raising fuel prices without addressing workers’ minimum wage.