Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State has vowed to replace within 72 hours any state worker who fails to report to his duty post on account of the strike action directed by the Nigerian Labour Congress in the state.
The NLC on Monday directed workers in 14 states of the federation, including Ebonyi, to proceed on a one-week warning strike.
It said this was for the failure of the state governors to properly implement the new national minimum wage.
Briefing journalists in his office on Monday, the Governor debunked the allegation, insisting that he has implemented the minimum wage.
Nwifuru explained that his administration in keeping with his pronouncement on the matter commenced the payment of N75,000 to the least paid worker in the state in October 2024 with N40,000 across board from Level 03 to Level 16.
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He insisted that the state government was not owing any worker in the state any salary, including pensions and gratuities to retired workers, and condemned the action of the labour leaders in calling out the workers for a strike, which he described as needless.
He urged all workers to continue to report to their duty posts and attend to their various duties or face the wrath of the government.
Nwifuru said: “We are not owing any worker in this State, both pension, gratuity and salary.
“And we are paying the minimum wage as enshrined in the Act of the National Assembly, and every worker is being promoted according to the person’s wish because if you didn’t pass promotion exams, it is not my fault.
“So, I don’t know where we’ve gone wrong.
“I don’t know why our state should start a fight where there is no cause for it.
“If you don’t go to work, not only that I will not pay your salary, but I will replace you within the next 72 hours.
“I have called the chairman of the Civil Service Commission.
“I have directed the Commissioners to go to their offices, heads of government agencies and departments must be in their offices to check those that come to work.
“Those are the people I am going to pay, through table payment and based on the number of days you come to work.”
Governor Nwifuru, who said he considered the action of the NLC Chairman as a threat, further insisted that he would never negotiate with the labour leader on the matter of the minimum wage, which he maintained is an Act of the National Assembly.
He queried the reason behind a Federal Government worker being the NLC Chairman in the state rather than a state worker.
He added: “I said this before the NLC Chairman, and I make bold to say it again that I will never negotiate with you sir.
“You are not even my staff and you are not a staff of this state.
“You are a Federal Government staff, and I don’t even know why you are the NLC chairman, and I will start querying that now.
“And I want everybody to know, and himself to know because I take everything he is doing as a threat, but empty threat.”
The NLC Chairman in the state, Professor Ogugua Egwu, is a lecturer with the Federal University, Ndufu-Alike Ikwo, Ebonyi State.
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