The faceoff between the minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige and the Nigeria Labour Congress, has assumed a different twist as the labour union has resolved to embark on a protest in Abuja on Monday.
The Congress is also asking President Muhammadu Buhari to break his silence on the status of the appointment of Frank Kokori as Board Chairman of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF).
Correspondent Joke Adisa reports that the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige views the protest to his residence as an act of hooliganism by the workers.
The Nigeria Labour Congress has been a critical ally of the Labour and Employment ministry headed by Chris Ngige.
But now the failure of the Labour Minister to inaugurate the Board of the Nigeria Social Investment Trust Fund since 2017, is pitching both allies
against each other.
An early morning protest to the residence of the Minister to register their displeasure over attempts to replace erstwhile scribe of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, Frank Kokori, turned violent.
Youths, suspected to be hired by the Minister engaged the workers in a free for all in the full glare of security operatives.
Rising from an emergency meeting in Abuja, NLC says it will embark on a protest in Abuja on Monday to kick against the violence meted on its
members.
The Congress says President Buhari’s silence on Kokori’s appointment is what is causing the ripples
NLC also wants a Commission of enquiry into the operations of the NSITF under the current Labour and Employment Minister.
The Minister, through his media aide, issued a statement threatening to drag NLC and its President, to court if he does not get a written apology
in seven days for the invasion of his residence.
The Minister, during an interview with newsmen insists the workers do not have the right to besiege his house in the guise of a protest. He described the workers’ action as an act of hooliganism.
The workers’ union has now directed its members across all airports in the country as well as the 163 countries where the International Trade Union Congress operates, to rise in protest against the Minister.
