Four Days To Edo Poll, NLC, TUC Endorse Obaseki

Godwin Obaseki

With four days to the September 28, election in Edo State, the two umbrella labour organisations, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), have thrown their weight behind the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Godwin Obaseki.
At a solidarity gathering to honour the state Governor and former labour activist, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole in Benin City, NLC chairman said: “Arising from the achievements of the Comrade Governor’s administration and coupled with the fact that he has done us proud being a man from our constituency, we are pleased that as he prepares to end his second tenure as the governor of Edo State, we need to assist him and give him all the necessary support to enable his legacies to be sustained.
“I ask for the massive support of all the workers and working people in Edo State come 28th September, 2016, by voting en masse for Godwin Obaseki.
“I don’t want us to return to the years of regrets. You know what we passed through then. It is on this note that we, in the labour movement, have resolved not to stay aloof.
“To our governor, we are very grateful to you for making us very proud and for your continuous support.
“We are here to appreciate his past performance in the governance of this state for almost eight years now. Edo State is the first state being the heartbeat of Nigeria to produce a labour leader as a chief executive of any state in Nigeria. Before his ascension as governor, labour leaders were only referred to as workers and not referred to as good managers.
“He has proved beyond reasonable doubt that labour leaders are the best managers in governance.
“A trip around the 18 LGAs of the state shows a wider spread of people-oriented projects, executed and being executed by his government,” he said.
Governorship candidate of the APC, Godwin Obaseki, who was elated with the labour movement’s support said: “I just want to assure you that, today, because I have been part and parcel of the Edo project from the beginning, I accept full responsibility for the decisions we have made.
“My candidacy has offered me the opportunity to continue from where Comrade Oshiomhole will stop. I will continue to emphasise good and quality labour relations, and the payment of salaries which we have now come to take for granted will continue. I will spend more time on human capacity development to build a stronger civil service, without which we won’t be able to accomplish our goals and developmental agenda.”
Obaseki promised to devote resources to training and retraining of the workforce, including teachers, and thanked the labour movement for the endorsement, while promising that he would not disappoint them.
In his remarks, Governor Adams Oshiomhole, thanked the labour movement for the support they gave him in eight years, and noted that the success of his government has given hope to others in the labour movement.
The governor said that his government has computerised the pensions system such that retirees are now captured in the pensions’ payroll within a week after leaving the service.
He reminded the labour movement of how the former PDP government sacked all the permanent secretaries in the state and 7,000 workers in one fell swoop without paying them their pensions, noting that the pensioners sacked by the PDP government of Lucky Igbinedion  have now appealed to him to pay them their three months’ in lieu, which that government failed to pay.
Oshiomhole, urged the state workers to vote for the APC candidate en masse as he has the interest of the workers at heart.
Representative of the NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, Comrade Godwin Uche, said Edo workers were lucky to have Governor Adams Oshiomhole as he has transformed the face of governance in the state.
He noted that eight years ago, only one airline was flying into the state, but with the increase in business and commerce in the state, more airlines now fly into the state daily.
Wabba urged the workers to support Godwin Obaseki to continue with the good works that Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has done.
Source: NAN