SYLVA TASKS LABOUR ON PEACEFUL APRIL POLLS

By NBF News

Yenagoa - Governor Timipre Sylva of Bayelsa State has charged delegates to the 10th Delegates Conference of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, which opened in Abuja, yesterday, to play critical roles in ensuring that the forthcoming April polls are free, fair and violence-free.

In his goodwill message to the conference, Sylva said labour has a crucial role to play in Nigeria's quest for national transformation, particularly 'in this crucial election year.'

The governor in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Doifie Ola, eulogised the roles of past labour leaders, such as Pa Michael Imodu, whom he said had remained ineffaceable in the history of the country.

According to Sylva, 'the NLC has grown to become a national umbrella, which brings together all Nigerians to promote and advocate a better life for all through cohesive and coordinated interventions in various aspects of national life.

'Building Nigeria anew entails looking back on the path to nationhood, considering where we are at the moment, and deciding whether the path we had chosen can take us to where we want to be,' he added.

The governor submitted that it is the task of the Nigerian worker to ensure that the one-man-one vote concept prevails by refusing to perpetrate acts that are inimical to the political process. He also charged labour leaders to, through their members that constitute the working class to report those that indulge in such acts to the appropriate authorities.

Besides, the governor urged the delegates to focus on building harmonious government_labour relations, saying that is the reality of the post-Cold War international political economy.

'I urge the working class to always bear in mind the fact that there is no demarcation between it and government. Both exist in a symbiotic relationship naturally meant to bring in mutual benefits'

Sylva disclosed that in Bayelsa State, a comprehensive programme for economic transformation anchored on the creation of harmonious socio_economic and political environment now exists.