Workers hold parallel May Day celebrations amid tight security

A factionalised labour celebrated May Day at two venues on Friday in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
The parallel events were held at the Lekan Salami Stadium, Adamasingba and the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) State Headquarters Building, Apata.
At the Adamasingba event were a factional state chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Waheed Olojede; Governor Abiola Ajimobi; Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Ismaeel Alli; former NLC state chairmen, commissioners and workers.
‎At the Apata event were another factional chairman, Sulaiman Odumuyiwa; his deputy, Comrade Olayemi Oluleye; two former NLC state chairmen, Ibrahim Bolomope and Alamu Oloyede, and workers.
But the two factional chairmen were united in their call on
Ajimobi to pay workers their three-month salary arrears.
Olojede assured that his executives would collaborate with the government to move the state forward.
He said:‎ “We will engage government in a round-table at resolving the workers salary arrears because a happy worker is he or she that produces”.
Ajimobi, who was represented by his deputy, Chief Moses Adeyemo, promised to alleviate the suffering of workers.
He blamed the Federal Government for the inability of the state government to pay workers.
‎However, the Odumuyiwa faction organised a symposium to mark the May Day, an initiative which attracted many workers.
The lecture of the symposium entitled “The Nigerian Labour Movement and the quest for good governance”, was delivered by Comrade Sanya Adejuyigbe.
Odumuyiwa assured Oyo workers of adequate protection of their rights and also pledged support to President-elect, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari and Ajimobi.
Parallel events were also held in Kano.
The Comrade Ado Salisu Riruwai-led faction celebrated the event at Textile and Garment Union secretariat along Airport Road.
The Comrade Kabiru Ado Minjibir-led faction celebrated with workers at the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Centre.
The two events were heavily guarded by anti-riot policemen.
In Delta State, workers marked the day amid tight security as police officers were visible in Asaba, the state capital, to ensure a peaceful celebration.
The situation might not be unconnected with the division in the executive of the state NLC chapter.
Former NLC State Chairman, Mr Williams Akporeha, who was returned unopposed at a delegates’ conference in Warri, Delta State, boycotted the Asaba celebration.
Factional state NLC chairman, Mr David Ofoeyeno, insisted that there was no division among the workers.
He, however, said the situation was caused by a few affiliate unions in line with the fallout at the national NLC election in Abuja.
“So, as far as we are concerned, there is no crack in NLC, NLC is one. It’s rather the spill-over of what happened in Abuja where about four unions left NLC. So, whatever differences they have in Delta will be resolved in Abuja. The governor is not meeting with us to resolve any issue on this matter in the state because it is a national issue.”
He thanked Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan for the peace and tranquility that existed in the state and also congratulated the governor-elect, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, and others who won during the March 28 and April 11 elections.
Represented by Mr Mike Okeme, the Special Adviser on Labour and Industrial Relations, Uduaghan thanked NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) for their support during his tenure.
He promised to deliver to civil servants a housing estate made up of 150 units of three, two and one-bedroom apartment along Ibusa Road, Asaba, before the May 29 handover date.
He said that his administration had recruited no fewer than 10,000 people into the state work force and pledged to increase the number before leaving office.
The governor said that arrangement were on to ensure that the local government workers salaries were also paid before the end of his administration.
He called on workers to remain focused and committed to ensure a peaceful transition of power on May 29.