Local Government has one car and thirty drivers

Alhaji Tanko Al-Makura, Executive Governor of Nasarawa

It is not clear what this report will convey to anyone but the fact has been made that the Nasarawa local government council of Nasarawa state, Nigeria, has 30 drivers on its payroll. Yet the only functional car in the council is the official car of the local government chairman.

This was stated by the Hon. Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr. Ahmed Tijjani, in Lafia while reacting to the labour crisis in the state and the refusal of the local labour chapter  to make necessary concessions to end the ongoing strike by workers in the state.

Mr Tijjani was the chairman of the Nasarawa local government council before his appointment as commissioner asked the labour unions to be considerate in their demands and make all necessary concessions in the spirit if collective bargaining that would see an end to the industrial face-off.

He lamented that the workforce at the local government level was over bloated making it impossible for government to readily meet its obligation to workers, especially with the recent fall in revenue allocation.

The commissioner, expressed concern over why labour demanded the suspension of biometric screening of workers in the state which was being carried out in good faith in order to fish out ghost workers and check revenue leakages.

In another development,, while workers in the state eagerly awaited the imminent suspension of the strike action, the Nasarawa State government, on Monday, filed a suit before Industrial Court in Makurdi, Benue state,  challenging the legality of the strike action on the grounds that due process were not followed as prescribed by relevant labour laws.