Gunmen Attack Benue NLC Chairman

 

Benue State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Godwin Anya, was on Tuesday attacked by unknown gunmen in Makurdi, the state capital.

Anya, who made this known to journalists on the phone, said he could not lead the protest by the NLC in the state over minimum wage because of the robbery attack in which his wife was shot.

The NLC state chairman said he had travelled to his village in Ushongo to celebrate the Christmas and New Year’s festivities when they were attacked by the gunmen.

According to him, at about 12 midnight, the entire family gathered in his house in prayer to usher in the New Year when more than five armed gunmen stormed in, quickly switched off the light from the main control panel and shot a bullet which unfortunately hit his wife.

 Anya said: "They led me to the bedroom and collected over N750,000 meant for my children’s school fees and all our mobile phones, and I have reported the incident to the Ushongo Divisional Police officer."

The labour leader was represented at the protest by the state Chairman Joint Negotiation Council 1,2 and 3, Ojotu Ojemu, who urged the governor to ensure that the robbers are apprehended.

He also called for attachment of security agencies to protect the lives of labour leaders in the state, noting that the new minimum wage of 30,000 is lawful and long overdue

The national President of NLC, Ayuba Wabba, who was represented by the National Auditor of the union, Dr. Success Leke, advised the state Governor, Samuel Ortom, to prevail on his colleagues to implement the new minimum wage.

Ortom, who sympathised with workers over their plight, said if given the capacity, he would not hesitate to implement the new minimum wage.

“I wish to call on the federal government to review the revenue sharing formula. For my administration, I am committed to prioritising the payment of workers’ salaries, and this is exactly what we are doing,” Ortom said.