Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has resolved the labour dispute between the Emohua Local Government Area and the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) in the state.
Fubara’s intervention followed the declaration of seven-day warning strike in all the 23 local government areas to protest the refusal of the state Chairman, Dr Chidi Lloyd to suspend the salaries of about 300 workers in his council.
The governor reportedly summoned Lloyd and the state leadership of NULGE to a meeting in Government House where he brokered a peace deal between the warring parties.
Speaking after the meeting, Lloyd thanked the state governor for his intervention saying Fubara issued a clear directive that brought them on the same page.
He said, ‘I have to in a very special way thank the Governor of Rivers State for his intervention in what would have been a disagreement between NULGE and management of Emohua Local Government Area
‘The governor has issued very clear directives and we are all on the same page. He has further directed that the Council and the Local Government Service Commission should take it further. We will come out very soon with all that we have agreed.
‘I also thank the President of NULGE for appealing to his workers to call off the strike. We will move forward, it is nothing personal, we just want to ensure transparency in the system. I want to commend the governor for being on the side of transparency’.
In his remarks, NULGE President, Rivers State, Clifford Paul, said the governor directed that the matter should be handled harmoniously.
‘So, on behalf of the State Council of NULGE I enjoin all our members to resume work. All the branch chairmen and the state officers are hereby directed to call off the strike’, he said.
The Chairman of the state Local Government Service Commission, Mr. Israel Amadi, commended the governor for his intervention.
‘His Excellency has given his mandate and we want to use this opportunity to thank him for intervening. And we hope that everything that we have discussed and resolved will be implemented as we also thank NULGE for their collaboration and cooperation’, he said.