NLC shut Banks, Schools, Airport, Train Station, Electricity In Kaduna As Strike Begins

Electricity, government schools and offices, banks, the airport, and the train station have all been shut down in Kaduna as part of a five-day notice strike called by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

Workers from across the state, as well as the leadership of all NLC affiliate unions, are currently gathered in Kaduna, the state capital, to ensure the strike’s success.

Workers gathered at the NLC state office near the state secretariat at 8 a.m., holding placards with different inscriptions against state governments, to begin a rally.

The NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, is currently leading the workers and has announced that “there will be no withdrawal and no surrender” until the state Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, reverses the sacking of workers and pays those who were sacked about four years ago.

He said that the Kaduna State government has been misleading the public by claiming that none of the labor unions or their representatives were consulted.

The Nigeria Labour Congress announced a strike on Monday, leaving several passengers stranded at the Rigasa Train Station in Kaduna (NLC).

Some passengers who purchased tickets online were found stranded in Rigasa.

They were advised, however, that their tickets would be valid if they used them on the day the strike was called off.

El-Rufai had said his government would not bow to blackmail, insisting that it was not sustainable to spend 84 to 96 percent of federal allocation on salaries and personnel costs.

The state government had noted that it had been subjected to a campaign of lies, misrepresentation, and false claims that its rightsizing exercise affected 4,000 workers and that it had stopped paying the minimum wage.