Passengers at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja are currently stranded and unable to continue their journeys due to an ongoing protest by labour unions
By Emma Ogbuehi
Passengers at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja are currently stranded and unable to continue their journeys due to an ongoing protest by labour unions.
The protesters are members of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress.
The protest is part of a series of actions that the two labour unions say they will zero in on Imo State following the attack on the NLC President Joe Ajaero. This is following the recent attack on the National President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero, in Imo State.
The attack had forced aviation unions across the country to declare the suspension of all flights to Owerri, Imo State, from every airport in Nigeria. The organised labour gathered at the airport around 8:58 a.m. to enforce their directive to members working in the aviation sector to stop all flights to Owerri, the Imo State capital.
NLC has already declared Uzodimma persona non-grata in all airports in the country.
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Shehu Sani backs NLC strike, says it will send a clear message
The NLC and TUC declared a nationwide strike, which will commence on Tuesday, November 14th, also because of the face-off with the Imo State Government. Human rights activist and former Kaduna State Senator, Shehu Sani, has thrown his weight behind the strike proposed by organised labour. Expressing his support via his social media page, he tweeted: “No responsible trade union will fold its arms and see its leaders brutalised without a massive response.
“The strike action will send a clear message to those who want to toe this path. Using political thugs to disrupt protests and maltreat protesters is unacceptable; Abuja EndSARS organisers can remember how they were attacked at CBN Headquarters.”
The workers’ unions commenced the Abuja procession as they all filed out in a convoy heading to the airport. They blocked both the entry and exit ways of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
The protesters attempted to enter the airport but were stopped by the military at the checkpoint. As a result of the refusal, the protesters blocked the entry and exit points of the airport, causing heavy traffic of vehicles on both sides, thereby forcing travellers to make their way into the airport on foot.