Fetish objects litter Ekiti LG secretariats

Ado-Ekiti Local Government secretariat gate...on Monday

Gates to various local government secretariats in Ekiti State were shut and laced with fetish objects as striking workers refused to resume on Monday.

The workers refused to resume despite the assurances given on Saturday by the Commissioner for Labour and Productivity, Mr. Wole Adewumi, that the state government would immediately effect payment of the minimum wage and the Consolidated Salary for Health Workers, which were the workers’ major demands.

Our correspondent observed that various fetish objects such as birds, palm oil, put in clay pot were seen at the secretariats of Irepodun/Ifelodun LG in Igede and at Gbonyin Local Government secretariat in Ode-Ekiti.

The gate of Ado-Ekiti Local Government secretariat also has palm fronds tied around it.

A juju priest was seen at the gate of Ifelodun LG secretariat performing spiritual cleansing to neutralise the effect of the fetish objects.

The Caretaker Chairman of the Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government, Tajudeen Awe, in an interview with journalists, said the fetish objects scared the workers away.

The commissioner had on Saturday asked the workers to resume and assured them that Governor Kayode Fayemi administration would resolve all issues connected with the implementation of the new minimum wage of N19,320 and the biometric data capture immediately.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Union Local Government Employees has directed its members to continue to stay away from work until the state government met all the union’s demands.

The NULGE, in a statement made available to journalists in Ado-Ekiti on Monday by Oludare Famoofo on behalf of the union’s national president, gave this directive.

He said, “We wish to say that the strike embarked upon by the union to press for payment of the CONHESS/CONMESS and minimum wage in the state to workers in the local government service has not been called off.

“This is because the issues involved in the dispute that resulted in the strike have not been addressed by the Ekiti State Government.”

PUNCH