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Disengaged Kaduna Workers Rain Curses On El-Rufai At Zaria Prayers

September 28, 2018

Carrying placards, the workers — teachers, local government officers, and staff of Water Board Corporation — gathered on Wednesday at the Zaria City Eid prayer ground to observe prayers. They also used the occasion to rain curses on the governor, blaming him for subjecting their families to "deprivation and penury".

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A coalition of disengaged workers in Zaria, Kaduna State, have staged a protest at a prayer session against Nasir el-Rufai, Governor of Kaduna State, over their unlawful disengagement from service.

Carrying placards, the workers — teachers, local government officers, and staff of Water Board Corporation — gathered on Wednesday at the Zaria City Eid prayer ground to observe prayers.

They also used the occasion to rain curses on the governor, blaming him for subjecting their families to "deprivation and penury".

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Some inscriptions on their placards read: 'A Liar Will Never Rule Us, El- Rufai Is A Lair'; 'He Says No Direct Primaries Because He Is Not Honest'; 'You Subject Our Family To Hardship'.

The protesters are demanding their reinstatement, adding that due process was not followed when the exercise was carried out.

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According to the workers, the competency test was part of a premeditated plan to cut down the workforce, just as they alleged that the sack violates the provisions of all labour laws, industrial relations practice as well as processes. They also described the reasons adduced by the government as "spurious and unfounded".

The Kaduna State Governor approved the disengagement of 4,042 local government staff across the 23 local government areas of the state in November 2017. He had explained that the sack was part of the ongoing restructuring of the local government system for effective service delivery.