Special Adviser to Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde on Labour Matters, Comrade Bayo Titilola-Sodo, has berated Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai for just waking up one morning and declared that he sacked some workers in the state.
Titilola-Sodo, who is the immediate past Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Oyo State council, said this while speaking with journalists in Ibadan, the state capital.
The former President of Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, in the state, while featuring in an interactive session, organized by the Oyo State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Correspondents’ Chapel on Wednesday, said that Kaduna State is not the property of the governor, hence it is wrong for him to sack workers in the state without following due process.
Speaking on the faceoff between workers and the Kaduna State government, he insisted that he will always be on the side of the workers, because he believed in the promotion of welfare of workers, stating that as a Special Adviser to the governor on Labour Matters, he will continue to agitate for the welfare of workers, irrespective of his level or position occupied.
He added that he represents the labour in the government of Governor Seyi Makinde, hence he has been working to ensure that workers welfare is given needed attention.
He said, “I am with the NLC; you cannot just wake up one day and say that you are sacking the workers. It is about the government. It is not El-Rufai and sons. It is Kaduna State government. Due process must be followed.
“I see myself as the representative of labour in the government of Governor Seyi Makinde. I see myself as the ears and eyes of labour and I take responsibility for whatever mistake the governor may have made.”
Titilola-Sodo, who noted that Oyo State is paying N30,500 minimum wage, added that some wrongly dismissed workers have been reinstated by the Makinde administration.
He disclosed that the workers were recalled because it was found out that they were wrongly sacked by previous administration in the state.
“Some wrongly dismissed workers have been reinstated back to service. The minimum wage in Oyo State is N30,500 and I can say that if not for COVID-19, it will be more than that.
“The government has paid over N13 billion across sectors to pensioners in the state and it has increased the maternity leave to six months. You can see that the labour/government relation has improved. And certainly it is not what we have in May 2019.”
