Redevelopment Of Ondo GRA: Organized Labour Insists No worker Should Be Evicted

By Ayodele Oni

Organized Labour in Ondo State has insisted that explanation by the State government to defend the eviction of civil servants from  Alagbaka Government Reserved Area, (GRA) was untenable.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC)  challenged the Special Adviser to the State Governor on Infrastructure, Lands and Housing, Ayorinde Olawoye, to publish verifiable evidence to support allegations.

The State Government had stated that the GRA, in Akure which harbours substantial number of civil servants would be redeveloped to reflect the status of the state.

Government claimed that houses at the GRA built close to 40 years ago are now dilapidated while those who were allocated the houses had reallocated them to another people.

The Labour Union in a statement also clarified that civil servants in the state didn’t sublet government quarters at exorbitant rates, describing the claim as a “cheap lie”.

The statement was signed by Olapade Ademola Adeniji, NLC Chairman; Fatuase Clement Chairman, TUC Chairman,  Segun Ajiböye Chairman Joint Negotiation council (JNC).

The statement reads, “The attention of the Organised Labour in Ondo State, comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), has been drawn to a public statement issued by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Infrastructure, Lands and Housing, Engr. Ayorinde Abiola Olawoye, concerning the proposed redevelopment of the Alagbaka Government Staff Quarters, Akure.

“Ordinarily, we would have ignored the self-congratulatory rhetoric and anti-worker posturing laced throughout the said release.

“However, in the face of deliberate misinformation, half-truths, and the thinly veiled insults against hardworking civil servants, silence would be betrayal.

“We wish to state in very clear terms that the claim that civil servants have “sublet” government quarters at “exorbitant rates” is not only a cheap lie, but a calculated attempt to paint workers as profiteers in order to justify the eviction plan.

“The Alagbaka Staff Quarters have served as a critical buffer against the housing deficit in Akure for decades.

“Displacing workers from their homes without any clear resettlement or Compensation plan is cruel, anti-labour, and completely unacceptable.

“We take particular exception to the condescending assertion by Engr. Olawoye that “less than one percent” of the state workforce resides in the quarters.

“Since when dịd the number of people affected determine the worth of their dignity? Even if it were just one family, the government has a responsibility to treat its workers with empathy and not as disposable statistics.

“Let it also be known that the so-called engagement with Labour was superficial as there was no briefings whatsoever.

“Organised Labour is not against development. We welcome genuine urban renewal efforts that follow due process and uphold human dignity.

“We call on His Excellency, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, to listen to the voice of reason and direct an immediate halt to all plans that will force civil servants into the streets.

“No government should derive satisfaction from turning its workforce into victims of eviction. The Organised Labour stands firmly with every affected worker and their families.

“We will resist all forms of oppression, humiliation, and disregard for the welfare of workers under any quise. Let it be known that an attack on one worker is an attack on all.”