The leadership of Nigeria Labour Congress ,NLC has expressed its displeasure with Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang’s decision to abandon the state and embark on a foreign trip to Germany with his family while the labour crisis in the state remains unresolved.In a statement titled “Stop Jang From Leaving the Country”, the NLC through its Acting Secretary General, Chris Uyot said “Despite the lingering industrial crisis that the Governor of Plateau State, Jonah Jang has plunged his state into for the past six months, he has once again displayed his disdain and contempt for his people by abandoning the state for a foreign trip to Germany with his immediate family.”
“This has confirmed our belief that he has neither respect for his people nor democratic credentials as a civilian governor as no responsible governor will leave his state in deep crisis for the comfort of a foreign land,” the statement said
Uyot also noted that “To also demonstrate his aversion for peace, he has ignored the intervention of the Minister of Labour and Productivity who has called for a meeting between the Governor and labour to mediate on the issues, confirming his love for crisis.”
The NLC said before leaving, the Governor has mobilized unemployed youths and members of the Joint Task Force to continue to violently attack peaceful workers who have been on strike since June and whose salaries were stopped on his orders.
“It is only a reckless government that will use state resources to mobilize thugs to attack residents of his state, particularly workers, who are peacefully protesting the infringement of their individual and collective rights”Uyot said,concluding that “A man who ignored the intervention of his state house of assembly as well as senior citizens of his state on a crisis he started cannot fit into democratic governance and we urge the State House of Assembly to take decisive steps to return the state to normalcy. The state legislators must stop Jang from abandoning the state in crisis. We will consider steps to stop him from flying through any airport within Nigeria.
