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The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have threatened to direct workers nationwide to stay away from their workplaces if the Federal Government fails to stem the worsening wave of insecurity.
President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero, warned that workers were increasingly risking their lives simply by reporting for duty, stressing that organised labour could resort to a nationwide stay-at-home directive as a matter of survival.
The warning came as the Senate yesterday moved to fast-track the passage of a constitutional amendment bill seeking to establish state police, indicating that the legislation could be passed this week and transmitted to the 36 state Houses of Assembly for consideration.
Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, in a statement issued by his Directorate of Media and Public Affairs, said growing consensus among key stakeholders had strengthened support for state-controlled policing structures as a response to the country’s deepening security challenges.
According to him, the National Assembly has decided to separate the state police proposal from other constitutional amendment bills to accelerate its consideration and passage.
Ajaero, who spoke on the sidelines of the 114th International Labour Conference (ILC) in Geneva yesterday, said insecurity had become the greatest threat to workers, economic productivity and national survival.
According to him, workers across various sectors now face grave dangers in the course of their duties, citing attacks on farmers, teachers and healthcare personnel in different parts of the country.
“In Nigeria, the crisis of insecurity has reached such frightening dimensions that workers now risk their very lives simply to report to duty,” the labour movement said.
The NLC and TUC lamented that communities were being overrun by armed groups, farmers displaced from their lands, teachers abducted or killed, and healthcare workers attacked while carrying out their responsibilities.
They argued that economic reforms would yield limited results in an environment where citizens lived under constant security threats.
The labour centres warned that if the situation persisted, organised labour might have no option but to advise workers to remain at home.
“If this continues unchecked, we may have no choice but to advise our members to stay at home, not as a strike, but as a desperate act of survival,” the unions said, noting that teachers had already begun taking similar measures in some affected communities.
The labour bodies also claimed that nearly 2,000 Nigerians lost their lives in the first quarter of the year, while millions had been displaced by insurgency and other forms of violence.
They added that several economic zones were becoming increasingly unproductive as insecurity deepened across the country.
Ajaero linked the security crisis to worsening economic conditions, arguing that insecurity and hardship were reinforcing each other.
While government officials have highlighted improvements in macroeconomic indicators, the labour leaders maintained that ordinary workers have yet to feel the impact of such gains.
Senate moves to fast-track state police bill, seeks passage this week
ON the Senate’s plan to fast-track the state police bill, Bamidele said consultations involving the leadership of the National Assembly, constitutional review committees of both chambers, the Presidency, security agencies and other stakeholders had advanced significantly, positioning the proposal for legislative action.
He added that President Bola Tinub u, state governors and many state legislatures had expressed support for the initiative, creating broad political backing for the reform.
The Senate Leader said lawmakers considered the current security situation compelling enough to warrant greater responsibility for states in protecting lives and property within their territories.
He explained that after passage by the National Assembly, the bill would be transmitted to the state Houses of Assembly, where it must secure approval from at least two-thirds of the legislatures before being forwarded to the President for assent.
Bamidele said the Senate would devote considerable attention to the proposal during the legislative week, expressing optimism that the process would progress quickly.
Nigeria currently operates a centralised policing system under Section 214(1) of the 1999 Constitution, which establishes the Nigeria Police Force as the country’s sole policing institution.
The renewed push for state police comes amid increasing calls from governors, security experts and community leaders for a decentralised policing framework capable of responding more effectively to l…
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