Labour Vows To Resist Military Takeover Of Govt

The organised labour has rejected any planned take over of the government of the country by the military.

It said that despite the challenges facing Nigeria presently, a democratically-elected government was preferred to a military regime, and vowed to reject any undemocratic or illegal takeover of government.

Speaking through the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), the organised labour said a military takeover of government would take the nation back by 50 years.

Recall that the Deputy Senate President, Sen. Ike Ekweremadu, had cautioned politicians against complacency, saying the military could still take over the government.

Reacting to killings across the country during a debate on the floor of the senate, Ekweremadu said, “who says that the army cannot take over in Nigeria. It is possible.”

But in a statement over the weekend signed by ASCSN President, Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama, and the Secretary-General, Comrade Alade Bashir Lawal, labour warned against treading the path of military rule.

The statement read, “It is common knowledge that since the military toppled the democratically elected government of Sir Tafawa Balewa in 1966, suspended the 1963 Federal Constitution and imposed a unitary system of government, the country’s growth has been stunted. We are also aware that all democracies in the world including that of the United States of America, Canada, Europe, etc, are not perfect but are still evolving and being improved upon.

“The shortcomings being experienced in building democratic institutions in Nigeria were not peculiar and that with time, some of the flaws would be rectified.

“Thus, under no circumstances should individuals, no matter how highly placed, should begin to hint of military takeover of government in Nigeria.” This is because most of the social dislocations we experience today, such as corruption, deterioration of power supply, collapse of railway, basterdization of the education system, destruction of the Civil Service, etc, were exacerbated by military dictators.”