The ongoing two-day warning strike by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has affected the delivery of the Ogun State National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal judgment and the operations of some banks and businesses in Sokoto State.
Ogun tribunal postpones judgment due to strike
The tribunal was scheduled to give its verdict on Wednesday, September 6, 2023, on the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Dada Adeleke, against the Senator representing Ogun West, Olamilekan Adeola, of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The petition, marked EPT/OG/Sen/2023, challenged the outcome of the February 25 National Assembly election in Ogun West Senatorial District.
However, the judgment was stalled after the leaders of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) locked the gate of the Magistrates’ Court at Isabo, Abeokuta, the venue of the tribunal’s sitting, in compliance with the NLC strike. The NLC had declared a warning strike over the effects of the subsidy removal from the petroleum products, which has since increased the pump price per litre to N600 with corresponding increase in prices of commodities.
The State Chairman of JUSUN, Olanrewaju Ajiboye, said that judicial workers locked the gate in compliance with the national body’s directive on the two-day warning strike. He added that they could not allow the tribunal to sit on their premises as that would mean sabotaging the struggle of the workers. He said that the tribunal had the right to sit anywhere else, but not on their premises.
The tribunal has postponed its sitting to Thursday, September 7, 2023.
Sokoto banks and businesses shut down by NLC monitoring team
The NLC monitoring team in Sokoto State also shut down some banks and businesses in the state for non-compliance with the directive of the national leadership of the union to join the warning strike. The team visited some banks and other business outlets along Kano Road and Sultan Abubakar Road and ordered them to close down.
The Chairman of NLC in Sokoto State, Aminu Umar, said that they were enforcing the strike order to compel the government to reverse its policies on fuel subsidy removal and electricity tariff hike. He said that they were not happy with the hardship caused by these policies on Nigerians. He urged all workers and Nigerians to support the strike action for their own interest.
Some customers who were affected by the closure of banks expressed their frustration and appealed to both parties to dialogue and resolve their differences amicably.
The warning strike is expected to end at the close of work today. It has since achieved partial compliance among workers in Ogun State and other parts of the country.
