Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna state has declared wanted President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Ayuba Wabba, and other leaders of the Congress, while offering handsome reward for anyone with information about their whereabout.
The NLC President has however replied, daring Governor el-Rufai to come and arrest him, saying that he and his people are waiting for the Governor.
The Tuesday declaration follows the commencement of NLC’s 5-day warning strike and protest that shutdown economic and social activities in Kaduna state on Monday, literally grounding the state to a halt with the airport, train station, banks, government offices, institutions, filling stations and electricity all shutdown.
The governor said, the labour leaders are wanted for economic sabotage and attacks on public infrastructure under Miscellaneous Offences Act.
El-Rufai who posted the declaration on his verified Twitter handle @elrufai, asked anyone who knows the whereabout of Wabba and others to report to the Kaduna state Ministry of Justice.
The governor who had earlier said the strike and street protest by the labour will not blackmail his government into rescinding its decision to rightsize the workforce, said there will be a handsome reward for information on the NLC President’s whereabout.
The labour leaders had during the protest on Monday said that they cannot be intimidated adding that anyone intending to intimidate them should go after the bandits kidnapping and killing people of Kaduna state.
The governor’s tweet Tuesday morning read that, “KADUNA UPDATE: Ayuba Wabba & others of @NLCHeadquarters declared wanted for economic sabotage & attacks on public infrastructure under Miscellaneous Offences Act. Anyone that knows where he is hiding should send a message to @MOJKaduna. KDSG. There will be a handsome reward!”
The NLC President, the Acting General Secretary, Comrade Bende Ismail, Vice Presidents, Najeem Yasin and Amaechi Asigiri and Comrade Joe Ajaero among other NLC top guns led the peaceful protest from NLC state secretariat to Kaduna State House of Assembly on Monday where Wabba gave a speech on why they shutdown Kaduna. The President of the National Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Ayuba Wabba dared the Governor to arrest him and his fellow NLC leaders, noting that the Governor is aware of his whereabout.
Responding to Governor Nasir el-Rufai’s tweet declaring him wanted and offering unspecified handsome reward for information on his whereabout, Comrade Wabba, while leading thousands of workers in a peaceful protest, declared that, “it is not about me. We are here and waiting for them”.
