Over 165 workers of College of Education, Sagbama, Bayelsa State, allegedly dismissed wrongfully by the state government four years ago, shut down Yenagoa, the statw capital, in protest of the failure of the government to reinstate them after court order.
The workers taged a peaceful demonstration on some roads and streets in Yenagoa, to draw public attention to their plight.
Human and vehicular movements were affected while the protest lasted, as passengers were stranded. Commuters and motorists made a detour to escape the gridlock.
After the procession, the protesters stormed the secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Bayelsa State chapter, to state their concerns.
They carried placards with inscriptions such as ‘Enough is Enough’! ‘Governor Diri, obey court order’, ‘Our children are out of school’, ‘We have suffered untold hardship’, among others.
Speaking to reporters during the protests, the leader of the disengaged workers, Mr. Kokobaikeme Lawrence, said they were unlawfully dismissed from the institution since 2018 by the administration of former Governor Seriake Dickson.
He said after the unlawful disengagement, they approached the Industrial Court in Yenagoa to seek redress and they got victory.
Lawrence said the court judgment compelled the government and management of the college to reinstate them.
He said despite the court order, the government refused to obey the ruling.
He said: “The wrongful dismissal has resulted in the deaths of some of the affected persons, while others have suffered critical health conditions such as stroke, hypertension and varying degrees of mental disorders.
“We have been rendered impecunious and we can’t afford to take care of ourselves and families. We are suffering; we implore the authorities to do the needful. They should allow the rule of law to prevail.”
Lawrence said instead of the government to reinstate them in line with the court judgment, it set up a panel headed by Koku Obiyai, a lawmaker in the House of Assembly.
He claimed that since the panel was inaugurated, it had been redundant and nothing meaningful had come out of it, thereby worsening the plight of the disengaged workers.
He alleged that there had been selective payment to some of the disengaged workers, especially some persons that hailed from Sampou, the community of Governor Douye Diri.
Lawrence urged the governor to intervene in the matter, which had lingered for long by directing the management of the institution to reinstate them.
He reminded Diri that as a beneficiary of the court, he should not be seen to be acting in disobedience to court judgment.