The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Wednesday, urged Kaduna state governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, to immediately and unconditionally reinstate all the workers he sacked from the state public service on Tuesday.
This is even as the party expressed shock “over alarming reports that the el-Rufai-led All Progressives Congress, APC, the government in Kaduna state had sacked about 70,000 since 2016,” describing such as wicked, insensitive, and unacceptable.
In a statement signed by the party’s national publicity secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP said the development is worrisome in that the sacked workers were punished for simply demanding improvement in their conditions of service.
The main opposition party also chided the governor for overstepping the law in declaring the President of the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, Ayuba Wabba wanted as well as ordering the sack of health workers and lecturers for joining in peaceful solidarity procession with the sacked workers.
“Our party insists that the right of citizens to peaceful protest is fully guaranteed in the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and charges Governor el-Rufai to douse the tensed situation by coming down from his high horse, rescind his position and listen to the people.
“Governor el-Rufai must understand that we are in a democratic nation governed by law; where sovereignty belongs to the people, and not a dictatorial regime as being witnessed in the attitude of the Kaduna state government towards workers.
“It is even more worrisome that some of those involved in this anti-people disposition is seen as aspiring to hold the position of President, Federal Republic of Nigeria
“Our party insists that the workers in Kaduna are citizens of Nigeria and we demand that their wellbeing and rights under the law must be respected.
“Moreover, the unleashing of thugs to attack the Kaduna workers during their peaceful protest now leaves no one in doubt regarding the connection between APC leaders and the thugs that attacked our youths in the EndSARS protests as well as the thugs unbridled to attack innocent Nigerians during the 2015 and 2019 general elections,” the statement read in part.
