Comrade Hyginus Chika Onuegbu, Rivers State Trade Union Congress, (TUC) chairman, during the 2012 May Day celebration, recalled the gallant struggle of Nigerian Trade Union Movement towards improving the welfare of Nigerian workers and peoples right from the colonial era, even during military dictatorship, leading to democracy and the January 2012 strike over sudden removal of fuel subsidy.
Although he noted that many trade union leaders and members were severely persecuted and some lost their lives, their good work lingers on and the congress more importantly celebrates the courage, patriotism, tenacity, nationalism and dogged determination in quest of enthroning democracy.
“This is the legacy that has been bequeathed to us and it is a proud and elegant one”, Onuegbu said.
However, Comrade Onuegbu noted that TUC Rivers State and other trade unions in Nigeria had resolved that the dream of the founding father s are realized, the dream of a country with marked improvement in education, health, welfare of all.
This obviously culminated to the theme of this year’s celebration: “Right to work, food and education, a panacea to insecurity”
A theme that captures the tragic events unfolding before us as a nation, a situation of gross violence necessitated by hunger, frustration and deprivation of the masses in the midst of plenty.
In view of this, the TUC chairman asserted that if people have decent jobs, they can access food and education and eventually escape poverty, thus refrain from violence, adding that in the absence of good governance, nothing much can be done to achieve a decent living.
Therefore, comrade Onuegbu said that the members of TUC, Rivers State are indeed grateful to God Almighty for giving Rivers State a chief executive in the person of Governor Chibuike Amaechi who understands the urgent need for economic development.
He further appealed to governor Amaechi to approve the memo forwarded by Senator Magnus Abe, former SSG, appealing for assistance towards the building of a befitting secretariat for the congress.
Meanwhile, the chairman also advised the federal government to review her system of fiscal federation such that states and local governments would be effectively motivated to concentrate on their areas of comparative advantage rather than continuous dependence on federal allocation. ###
