By Mohammed Yangida
Lafia
Governor Umaru Al-Makura of Nasarawa state has said that “henceforth any worker that does not come to work would not have his or her salary paid” and warned them to operate within the ambit of the law.
He stated this when the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) visited him to investigate the alleged killings of two workers by the police in the state.
Al-Makura stressed that “now that workers are running into their second month without work, government would not continue to give them salary when they refused to work.”
He said he had not considered membership of any organisation to be a licence to perpetrate impunity “simply because they are leading a certain train.”
“All of us, whether we belong to any organisation or not, we have to abide by the rule of law,” he said, stressing that issue between labour and government requested a briefing and enlightenment and that there was a lot of fallacy in their statement.
Al-Makura, who also noted that from 2011 to date, Labour had earned a bonus of N20 billion over and above their minimum wage, appealed to them to return to work, saying “government is ready at all times to discourse with them to find ways and means of cushioning the adjustment.”
He explained that the essence of every government “is to ensure security, peace and stability of its people and also to add value to the quality of people of the state.”
“We cannot just fall our arms and continue be a pay master.”
Earlier, the Secretary, NHRC, Mr. Bem Angwe, said for the purposes of investigation and the advancement of the rights of the victims, his team of investigators was meeting with him to give him a fair hearing.
He said the investigation was necessary after the Commission received a letter of complaint from the NLC president over the death of the two workers at the Government House gate.
