THE Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has replied Governor of Kaduna State Nasir El Rufai concerning his declaration of its chairman wanted.
Spokesperson of the NLC Benson Upah told The ICIR that El Rufai was overestimating his powers by declaring Wabba wanted.
Upah said the governor did not have the constitutional powers to declare a person wanted because he was neither the police nor the judiciary.
“El Rufai is supposed to be a lawyer, does he have the power to declare anybody wanted? Is he the police, is he the court? Or what authority does he have? Does his executive power extend to legislative or judiciary power? He has no judicial or legislative power or police,” Upah said.
He noted that El Rufai was aware of the whereabouts of Wabba, noting that he should simply go and arrest him.
READ ALSO: Kaduna govt declares NLC president, others wanted
A lawyer Odinaka Okere also told The ICIR that El Rufai had no such constitutional powers.
“Primarily, it is the job of the police or security agencies to declare anybody wanted. The police can investigate and know who committed a crime and then declare them wanted based on what they did. But it is impossible in law for the governor to declare someone wanted based on organising a strike; workers have a right to go on strike. So, in simple terms, the governor has no such constitutional powers,” he said.
The ICIR had reported that El Rufai declared Wabba and other protesters in the state wanted for ‘economic sabotage.’
According to the Kaduna State government, the industrial actions by the NLC were characterised with unlawful trespass on government facilities, and attempts to prevent officers from signing attendance registers.
The state government also said the protesting union shut down electricity, and healthcare access for several citizens by closing several hospitals and chasing away patients.
The NLC had, on Monday, commenced a five-day warning strike in the state over the sack of thousands of workers and refusal to pay entitlement to retrenched workers in the state.
Lukman Abolade is an Investigative reporter with The ICIR. Reach out to him via [email protected], on twitter @AboladeLAA and FB @Correction94