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.
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