By Ayodele Oni
Ekiti state government may have succeeded to stop the planned peaceful protest by workers in the state public service over unpaid remunerations.
The workers under the eagis of the three industrial unions, the Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC), Trade Union Congress, (TUC) and the Joint Negotiating Council, (JNC) had resolved, during their meeting last Thursday, to embark on peaceful protest on the first week of January to press home their accumulating demands.
But feelers from the state on Friday disclosed that government had punctured the planned action as the workers have now changed their mind.
The action, it was learnt, initially, had jolted Governor Kayode Fayemi, who was out of the country, when the decision was reached.
Fayemi resurfaced in Ado Ekiti on Thursday, the last working day of the year, and remained in office late, during which he was said to have held discussions which various Stakeholders.
During the parley, the Governor reportedly told the unions that there was no way the state government can afford to pay the new minimum wage as from this month as demanded by the workers.
It was further gathered that the state will need about N170 million monthly, going by the agreement reached during negotiation, an amount government cannot afford.
Fayemi, was said to have bluntly told government team at the negotiation to return to the drawing board and ensure that the amount is reduce to about N100 million.
A former chairman of the NLC in the state and now a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress, (APC) has been meeting with the representatives of the workers and discouraging them from going ahead with the planned protest.
Government is expressing reservation that the protest, coming early in the new year may be hijacked by hoodlums, like the endSARS protest and turns violent.
Apart from this, it may embarrass government and possibly attract negative criticisms of the present administration.
While the under current moves are ongoing to nip in the bud the protest, government was said to have fingered the hand of a former governor of the state in moves to rally the workers against the administration.
A source within government revealed that it was during the tenure of the former Governor that workers’ salaries were not paid and deductions not remitted, thus leaving the present administration with huge outstanding wage bill.
