By Charles Maduka
The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees in Rivers State has launched a seven-day warning strike over alleged unpaid salaries of more than 500 workers in Emuoha Local Government Area.
The affected workers had recently stormed the Emuoha council secretariat to protest their removal from the payroll, which they said had denied them wages. They accused the council chairman, Dr. Chidi Lloyd, of unlawfully sacking them and vowed to continue their protest until their names were reinstated.
Following the outcry, the state chapter of NULGE issued a directive on Monday instructing all members across the 23 local government areas in the state to withdraw their services from Tuesday.
In a statement titled “Notice of Strike Action” and signed by the Rivers State NULGE President, Sunday Adeniran, the union described the chairman’s action as “callous and unfair.” Adeniran said the strike had become necessary to protect workers’ rights and demanded full compliance from union members.
However, Dr. Lloyd dismissed the allegations, maintaining that all genuine council staff had been paid. He accused NULGE of blackmail and claimed the dispute was over names fraudulently added to the payroll. According to him, staff strength rose from about 1,000 to 1,600 without new employment.
The strike has disrupted operations in local government offices across Rivers State as the union pushes for the reinstatement of affected workers and payment of outstanding salaries.
Leave a Reply