Governance At Risk As Most Governors Now Living Permanently In Abuja – NLC Raises Alarm

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has expressed concern over the growing trend of state governors abandoning their states to reside permanently in Abuja, leaving their people to grapple with economic hardship.

NLC President, Joe Ajaero, made this known during a town hall meeting with workers at the NLC Secretariat in Lokoja, Kogi State.

The meeting was part of the NLC leadership’s visit to commission 10 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses provided to ease transportation difficulties for workers in the state.

The event provided an opportunity for workers to present their grievances, which Ajaero pledged to communicate to the state governor.

However, he lamented that in the five zones visited so far, governors were mostly absent.

Governors’ Absence Affecting Governance

Ajaero criticized the situation, stating: “However, there is a problem we are having in trends because most governors are now living permanently in Abuja. We have moved to about five zones, Kogi is about the fifth zone. We have met governors in only one state. Each time you go there, they are in Abuja and this is affecting governance.”

He stressed that for democracy to be meaningful, leaders must be accessible to the people. “I think we should be able to manage the center and the units, so people will have the feeling of democracy, the dividend of democracy, so that people can talk to their leaders.”

Ajaero further stated that the NLC would attempt to deliver the workers’ demands to the governor.

However, he added: “So if we capture all these things, the information you are going to give us will be conditional if the governor is around. If he’s around, we will convey your information to him. If he’s not around, whosoever he’s going to send, we pass it to him.”

Kogi’s Strategic Importance to NLC

The NLC President emphasized that Kogi State holds special significance for the labour movement, as both Governor Usman Ododo and his deputy have union backgrounds.

Ododo was previously an NLC official in Niger State, while the deputy governor was an official of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT).

He stated: “So, we want to make this as a town hall meeting to listen to you to know what has been done and what has not been done properly, so we take it to them.”

Ajaero noted that the visit was also an opportunity to assess the government’s performance, saying: “To us, it is like homecoming. We want to come and interact with them to find out whether they are doing those things we are criticising others for.”

Illegal Proscription of Labour Unions in Kogi

Reacting to the proscription of labour unions in state-owned tertiary institutions by the previous administration of Governor Yahaya Bello, Ajaero dismissed it as unconstitutional.

He argued that state governments lack the authority to ban unions, as labour matters fall under the Exclusive Legislative List.

“Let me say here, union practice falls under the Exclusive Legislative List in the Constitution. No governor has powers to ban them, you don’t ban what you don’t have control over.

“Unions are registered nationally by the registrar of trade unions. For administrative convenience, they may choose to have branches in states, so what are you now banning?” he stated.

Workers at the meeting informed Ajaero that for over a decade, labour unions at Kogi State Polytechnic, Kogi State University, and the state’s Colleges of Education, Technology, and Nursing had been proscribed.

Workers’ Demands

Among the pressing issues workers urged the NLC to address were:

– Non-implementation of annual salary increases

– Lack of housing provisions for workers

– Severe teacher shortages in primary and junior secondary schools

Ajaero assured workers that their grievances would be taken up with the authorities, urging them to remain steadfast in the fight for their rights.