By Eberechi Obinagwam
Organised labour has condemned Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s act of dumping them to attain a political party campaign as an insult to both the union and the people.
The union expressed this grievance on Tuesday while on a nationwide enforcement protest to the governor’s office to deliver a letter to him in person pertaining to the new minimum wage.
The union and Nigerian workers who started their protest from Maryland down to government house were barred from entering the governor’s office reasons being that the governor was preparing to attend a political rally.
Some officials who came to receive the protesters demanded that the group pass their message to them so that they can deliver it to the governor on his arrival, but they refused, saying that they were here to see the governor himself and to deliver the letter to him personally and not to any officials.
The group seeing the governor driving off to attend a political party campaign while they were still standing outside waiting for him, exclaimed that his actions was a big insult to both the union and the people that voted him in.
Secretary, Joint Action Front (JAF), Comrade Abiodun Aremu, who spoke for the group said it is the second time they are being barred by security officials from seeing the governor.
He urged the governor not to entertain fear as they all know that he has been doing well in paying workers in the state adding that they were only on a peaceful protest to deliver a letter to him from their executives even as it is being done in other states same time.
Reacting to the issue, Special Assistant to Ambode on Civic Engagement, Benjamin Olabinjo, said that the issue is just a matter of understanding because there was no previous information to the governor that they were coming and that the governor had a campaign meeting to attain and that he was already on his way out before they matched in.
For him, he said he was supposed to be at the campaign ground before the governor but because he came late that was why the group met him. “When I saw you people matched in, I had to stop to attend to you so I can address whatever be the issue on behalf of the governor,” he said.
After all said and done, the letter was later received and signed by Benjamin Olabinjo.
The protest coordinator, Solomon Adegun handing over the letter to the official said: “We are not happy that we are barricaded. The way we are being treated, the governors of Nigeria are the ones standing on the way for the implementation of the new minimum wage.
“The governor saw us with the people that voted him in and dumped us in this hot sun to attend to a political party campaign and it’s not the first time he is doing this. We are only here with a letter and to charge him on what the organised labour has resolved, to plead that he should talk to his colleagues concerning the minimum wage.”
