Thursday 14 November 2013

NLC may drag Kogi governor to human rights commission




The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, on Wednesday said it may be compelled to drag the Federal and Kogi State governments before the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, if they fail to take full responsibility for the death of the former President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, 
Festus Iyayi. Mr.


Iyayi died in an accident allegedly caused by a vehicle on the Kogi State governor’s convoy.

The senior lecturer, died on Tuesday along Lokoja-Abuja road while on his way to Kano to attend a meeting of the ASUU National Executive Council, NEC, as part of efforts to find solution to the ongoing strike by university lecturers.

The General Secretary of the NLC, Chris Uyott, told PREMIUM TIMES in a telephone interview that though the NLC President, Abdulwahed Omar, had earlier demanded that the Federal and Kogi State governments be held accountable for the death of the eminent scholar, the Congress may petition the NHRC to ensure that he did not die in vain.

"Iyayi’s death leaves a sour taste in the mouth and is totally avoidable. It is blamable on federal government’s act of criminal negligence on the one hand and executive lawlessness/impunity on the part of the Kogi State Governor who is fast acquiring for himself an accident-prone reputation,”

The Lokoja-Abuja stretch of road, which he pointed out was one of the busiest in the country, had suffered neglect by the Federal and Kogi State governments, as the contract for its dualisation awarded about ten years ago to ease vehicular movement and reduce accidents on the road is yet to be completed, and has caused several accidents.

NLC was of the view that there was no justification for abandoning the road, stating the government must be ready to let Nigerians know the facts of the contract.

Government, he warned, would be doing very little to help itself if it shielded, rather than prosecute the criminals responsible for the non-completion of the road. He urged “all siren-blowing and terror-dealing convoys to exercise utmost caution as well as have regard for other road users.”

He also urged the National Assembly to criminalise fatal road crashes as part of the process of bringing accountability to road use.

No comments:

Post a Comment