Labour has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to shelve his proposed visit to the United States of America (USA) amidst the security challenges by Boko Haram insurgents, which led to the scores of death in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa and Zaria city, last week.
Deputy President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Issa Aremu, during a Ramadan breaking of fast with labour leaders at the weekend in Kaduna, said that it would be insensitive of President Buhari to embark on the trip to the US in the face of heightened terrorist activities in the country.
“This is not the time to embark on foreign trips. Buhari should ensure that this renewed attacks by Boko Haram is addressed and make Nigeria safe for Nigerians. We once again express our sympathy with the families that lost their dear ones in the recent bomb explosions in Zaria and other parts of the country.
We commiserate with the Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El Rufai, the government and good people of Kaduna State and the Zauzau Emirate Council in particular on the irreparable losses.”
According to Comrade Aremu, “Labour will partner against violence in Nigeria where we have reportedly has lost as many as 15,000 lives to terrorism and as many as over one million internally displaced without an official declaration of war.”
Stressing that Labour will support genuine government efforts to combat the vicious cycle of violence in the country, he argued that the recent bombing by Boko Haram has now become a campaign against the working class.” “The soft targets of terror attack are indeed defenseless working people.
The Zaria bombing seems an orchestrated violence against workers because most victims are defenceless civil servants.” Aremu also called on the Federal Government to implement the report of the National Conference on the current insurgency in Nigeria, stressing, “We hereby demand that government implement the resolutions of the National Conference 2014 on Boko Haram insurgency.”
Government should invite states where matters of national security challenges originate to the meeting of the National Security Council to hold National Security Council meetings quarterly especially in times of emergency.
“There should be mass sensitization of the citizens on security awareness…We must implement the Local Government Peace and Security Committee at the local government level.
Membership to this committee should comprise chairman of the local government council, representative from the State Security Service, head of traditional ruler, Divisional Police Officer (DPO), representative of the State Police, military representative, Secretary to the Local Government (as Secretary of the Committee.)”