The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has declared its support for workers in Osun State who are striking over the federal government’s withholding of local government funds. In a press statement issued on Tuesday, the NLC demanded that the funds be released immediately, arguing that the delay has damaged governance at the council level and harmed service delivery for residents.
Acting General Secretary Benson Upah said the continued seizure of the allocations had no justification other than to demonstrate that the federal government is above the law. He warned that such a stance is unacceptable in a democracy and that the government must not cherry‑pick which court decisions it will obey.
The labour body also accused the federal authorities of intimidation and “arm‑twisting” against local government officials, insisting that all arms of government must respect judicial rulings and that the rule of law should not be subject to political considerations.
While criticizing the government, the NLC praised the Osun workers for conducting their protest peacefully and urged them to maintain that decorum. The congress reiterated its backing of the workers’ cause and called on the federal government to release the withheld allocations without further delay.
“We express solidarity with the striking workers of Osun State in pursuit of the release of the withheld local government funds and urge the federal government authorities to release those funds without further delay. The non‑release of these funds has caused considerable damage to governance at the local government council level with collateral implications. There is no justification whatsoever for the continued seizure of these funds other than to prove the point that the federal government is above the law. However, we do not need this level of intimidation or arm‑twisting in a democracy. The federal government cannot cherry‑pick which decisions of courts to obey and which it will not. We commend the Osun workers for conducting themselves with utmost decorum in prosecuting this action, and we urge them to keep it so… always peaceful.” – NLC statement, Tuesday
<small>Source: The Sun Nigeria — read the original story there.</small>
