The Kogi State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) yesterday threatened to embark on mass protest if the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) fails to release the N50.8 billion approved for the state to offset backlogs of workers’ salaries.
The state chairman of the NLC, Comrade Onuh Edoka who addressed a media conference in Lokoja, expressed bitterness over alleged political intrigues that he said have since hampered the release of the fund.
Edoka said, “Comrades, our hope towards accessing this life-line is about to crash as a result of some political wrangling, especially between two political parties who are contesting the state gubernatorial elections next month. According to our findings, some powerful politicians in the country have been making extraneous request from Kogi State Government before this money is finally released.
“Comrades, we are using this medium to prepare your minds for a mass protest very soon if in about a week, maximally, no tangible progress is made in our efforts to have this money.”
Stating how the protest would be staged, the NLC chairman said, “We will block all major roads leading in and out of Lokoja, the state capital, and tell the whole world what those who are clamoring for our votes are doing to us. We will inform all security agencies in due course.”
Edoka wondered why the CBN “is requesting for BVN of workers and hard copies of payment vouchers for the period of the state’s indebtedness before releasing the bailout fund, whereas such demands were not made from other states before the funds were released to them.
“You can therefore see our dilemma and thus the reason to cry out, especially to President MuhammaduBuhari who on inauguration promised that he belongs to nobody while he belongs to everybody to direct CBN to release our money to us without further delay”, Edoka said.
