The Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) has called on the Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, to take all the necessary steps to ensure the resolution of all disagreement with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in the larger interest of citizens of the state.
The Chairman of the Forum and the Governor of Kebbi State, Atiku Bagudu, in a statement issued Tuesday, said every step must be taken to resolve the current face-off between Kaduna State Government and NLC.
It said: “The PGF has been following unfolding development between Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Kaduna State Government over the issue of rightsizing local government employees with deep concerns. We appeal to both the state government and NLC to return to the negotiating table.”
The Forum noted that as progressive governors, they share the vision of the Kaduna State Government of reforming all local governments to make them more efficient and consequently the pivot of critical development initiatives.
The Forum added that considering all the challenges facing the states, especially given the dwindling revenue, it appealed to all patriotic Nigerians, including the NLC, to demonstrate more commitment towards engaging governments at all levels to address the problems.
The Forum said: “This is not the time for muscle flexing. Nigerians are already overstretched with many challenges. At this critical point of our democratic journey, there cannot be limits to engagement between all governments and citizens.”
It appealed to the NLC leadership to recognise that the burden of leadership at this point is more about responding to challenges based on the honest disposition of correcting past mistakes.
“At the same time, we want to appeal to Kaduna State Government under the leadership of our colleague, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, to take all the necessary step to ensure the resolution of all disagreement in the larger interest of citizens in Kaduna State,” it noted.
The Forum stressed that it was confident that both the Kaduna State Government and NLC would resolve all outstanding issues and restore industrial harmony in the state.
