Salaries, allowances: NLC tells workers to vote out defaulting govs

Protest against PMS price hike in Abuja

President of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Mr Ayuba Wabba, has urged workers to get their Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs, to vote out state governors owing salaries and allowances.

Wabba, who made the call at the “DoroCorruption Programme” organised by Say No Campaign, a civil society organisation, yesterday, in Abuja, decried the ordeal of workers in the hands of state governments, insisting that governments treat workers like slaves.

“It is time the workers used their numbers to push back. I encourage members to get their PVCs to vote out every defaulting state governor.

“State governments owing salaries were given bailouts and different Federal Government interventions, including the Paris Club funds meant to offset their debts to state workers.

“While some have met their responsibilities and paid off, chronic debtors like Benue and Kogi states remain adamant in fulfilling their responsibilities and clearing their debts.

“The challenge is not lack of resources but sheer unwillingness and misplaced priorities.”

Wabba said the reality of the matter was that the problem had never been about resources, saying: “In most of those states, their priority is not to pay salaries but white elephant projects.”

He said before this current administration came in, Plateau owed seven months salaries but through ingenuity, the governor utilised all the money given to him to settle everybody.

He said if as governors, they were not able to address the fundamental constitutional issue of security and welfare of the people then the people also must be able to hold them accountable.

Also speaking, the co-convener, Say No Campaign, Mr Ezenwa Nwagwu, encouraged citizens to join unions or associations and actively participate in ensuring that their collective interests were championed.

Nwagwu said where members noticed that leadership had been compromised or failed to promote their interest, there should be no hesitation in voting such leaders out.