What I Told Buhari On Rightsizing, NLC Strike — El-Rufai

Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, on Monday, said he had
briefed President Muhammadu Buhari on his administration’s
rightsizing policy, which had put him at loggerheads with the
Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

Governor El-Rufai also clarified that the Kaduna State Executive
Council had not approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
signed by government representatives at the May 20th conciliation
meeting with the NLC.

He said government representatives had made it clear at the
meeting that whatever they signed required the approval of the
State Executive Council, adding that he had informed the Federal
Minister of Labour on the position.

A statement issued by Governor El-Rufai’s Special Adviser on
Media and Communication, Muyiwa Adekeye stated that it would seek
accountability for NLC’s actions in the state by setting up a
Judicial Commission of Inquiry to look into the May 2021 strike
action.

“It is trite that an MoU is not a legally binding document. The
content of the MoU shows that there is no congruence between the
progressive aspirations of the Kaduna State Government and the
misguided sense of entitlement of the NLC which does not even
believe in equality amongst its own members,” it stated.

The statement noted that El-Rufai had assured President Buhari
that his administration was determined not to allow a repeat of the
“pains, economic losses and the restraints of freedom that the NLC
inflicted on the people of Kaduna State”, adding that it is hiring
“over 10,000 staff because rightsizing obliges the government to
continuously recruit teachers, doctors, nurses and other qualified
staff to provide vital services.”

Speaking on NLC’s renewed threat of strike action, the governor
said the union had demonstrated that it did not believe in equality
among its own members by describing the transfer of one of the
government’s employees to a place where other civil servants were
serving as victimisation.

“KDSG employees are serving with dedication in Birnin Gwari
Local Government Area, amidst all the challenges. Yet, the NLC
describes the transfer of one KDSG employee to Birnin-Gwari LGA as
victimisation, as if other staff who have been loyally serving in
the same area are lesser humans or permanent victims.

“KDSG rejects this unfair denigration of the very people that
the transferred employee claims to lead,” it stated.

He said the state government has not yet disengaged any state
civil servant but had dispensed with the services of 99 political
appointees so far, adding that “only the 23 local government
councils and the agencies associated with the local government
system such as SUBEB and the Primary Health Care Board have
released staff.”

Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, on Monday, said he had
briefed President Muhammadu Buhari on his administration’s
rightsizing policy, which had put him at loggerheads with the
Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

Governor El-Rufai also clarified that the Kaduna State Executive
Council had not approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
signed by government representatives at the May 20th conciliation
meeting with the NLC.

He said government representatives had made it clear at the
meeting that whatever they signed required the approval of the
State Executive Council, adding that he had informed the Federal
Minister of Labour on the position.

A statement issued by Governor El-Rufai’s Special Adviser on
Media and Communication, Muyiwa Adekeye stated that it would seek
accountability for NLC’s actions in the state by setting up a
Judicial Commission of Inquiry to look into the May 2021 strike
action.

“It is trite that an MoU is not a legally binding document. The
content of the MoU shows that there is no congruence between the
progressive aspirations of the Kaduna State Government and the
misguided sense of entitlement of the NLC which does not even
believe in equality amongst its own members,” it stated.

The statement noted that El-Rufai had assured President Buhari
that his administration was determined not to allow a repeat of the
“pains, economic losses and the restraints of freedom that the NLC
inflicted on the people of Kaduna State”, adding that it is hiring
“over 10,000 staff because rightsizing obliges the government to
continuously recruit teachers, doctors, nurses and other qualified
staff to provide vital services.”

Speaking on NLC’s renewed threat of strike action, the governor
said the union had demonstrated that it did not believe in equality
among its own members by describing the transfer of one of the
government’s employees to a place where other civil servants were
serving as victimisation.

“KDSG employees are serving with dedication in Birnin Gwari
Local Government Area, amidst all the challenges. Yet, the NLC
describes the transfer of one KDSG employee to Birnin-Gwari LGA as
victimisation, as if other staff who have been loyally serving in
the same area are lesser humans or permanent victims.

“KDSG rejects this unfair denigration of the very people that
the transferred employee claims to lead,” it stated.

He said the state government has not yet disengaged any state
civil servant but had dispensed with the services of 99 political
appointees so far, adding that “only the 23 local government
councils and the agencies associated with the local government
system such as SUBEB and the Primary Health Care Board have
released staff.”