By Longtong Ibrahim
Jos (Nigeria) – Members of the Plateau State House of Assembly in NorthCentral Nigeria were on thursday disrupted from carrying out legislative activities by members of the Nigerian Labour Congress who besieged premises of the Assembly and sending the Legislators into hiding.
The Speaker of the Assembly, Titus Alams who ordered security personnels to prevent the Labour Union from entry also disappeared on sighting the protesters.
The protesters who were chanting songs “Jang is not a pastor but a money launderer”; carried placards with different inscriptions like “Governor Jang should not be allowed to go away with workers money”; “Plateau state belong to the people, workers deserve their pay”.
They marched through the streets of Jos, the State capital, to the State House of Assembly complex protesting non payment of workers entitlement of seven months in the state.
During the protest, Nigerian Labour Congress National Vice President North-Central Zone, Lucy Offiong threatened to shutdown the State Airport if Governor Jang refused to offset workers salary before May 29th handing over dateline.
She said the court has given an order on Monday, freezing the account of the state while ruling on two ex-parte applications filed by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), which sought to attach the states’ accounts in the banks over their alleged refusal to pay about N1.6 billion to comply with the January 13, 2014 judgement.
Plateau State NLC Chairman, Jibrin Bancir said in an account of non payment of workers salary, they are giving State Assembly 14 days to offset the salaries or face full demonstration that could paralyse the entire state.
“I don’t know what the House of Assembly members are doing to provide relief to the plight of the civil servants whose children are out of school and can’t afford to feed them” He said .
Bancir accused the Assembly members of neglecting the suffering of the workers and common man, especially when children of the legislators go to private schools, but public schools remained closed due to the strike.
