The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has accused state governors of abandoning governance in their states and instead residing permanently in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, while their citizens grapple with economic hardship.
Speaking at a town hall meeting with workers at the NLC Secretariat in Lokoja, Kogi State, NLC President Comrade Joe Ajaero expressed frustration over the growing trend of absentee governors, noting that out of the five states his leadership had visited, only one governor was available to engage with them.
“Most governors now live permanently in Abuja. We have visited about five zones, and in only one did we meet the governor. Each time we arrive, they are in Abuja. This is affecting governance,” Ajaero lamented.
The town hall meeting, organized to give workers a platform to voice their concerns, coincided with the commissioning of 10 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses provided by the NLC to ease transportation burdens in the state.
Ajaero warned that workers were bearing the brunt of economic hardship, citing the high cost of living and the government’s plans to increase telecom tariffs. He stressed the need for governors to be physically present in their states to ensure democracy delivers tangible benefits to the people.
“I think we should be able to manage the center and the units so that people can experience the dividends of democracy and speak directly to their leaders,” he added.
Kogi State, led by Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo, a former NLC official in Niger State, was expected to be more attuned to workers’ struggles. The state’s deputy governor also has a background in the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT).
“This is a homecoming for us. We want to engage with them and find out whether they are doing the things we once criticized others for,” Ajaero remarked.
Ajaero was shocked to learn that for over a decade, labor unions in Kogi State’s tertiary institutions—including Kogi State Polytechnic, Kogi State University, and the State Colleges of Education, Technology, and Nursing—have been proscribed by the state government.
“Let me be clear: Union practice falls under the Exclusive Legislative List in the Constitution. No governor has the power to ban them. You cannot ban what you do not control. Unions are registered nationally by the Registrar of Trade Unions,” Ajaero asserted.
Kogi workers used the meeting to highlight their key grievances, including the non-implementation of annual salary increases, lack of housing for workers, and a shortage of teachers in primary and junior secondary schools.
Ajaero assured them that the NLC would take their demands directly to the governor, provided he was available.
“The information you are going to give us is conditional. If the governor is around, we will convey it to him. If he’s not, we will pass it to whoever he sends,” he stated.
As economic hardship worsens and workers struggle to survive, the NLC’s call for accountable governance resonates louder than ever. Will absentee governors heed the warning and return to their states, or will the people continue to suffer in their absence?
