The Labour Party (LP) in Enugu State has promised to ensure that workers and pensioners in the state enjoy immediate and just reward for their work by prompt payment of their wages and salaries if voted into power next year.
The party reaffirmed that the era where retired workers and senior citizens, many of whom have been owed retirement benefits since 2007 by successive administrations of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), were denied their pensions and gratuities will end, as they will be given priority.
The media office of Labour Party’s governorship candidate, Chijioke Edeoga, yesterday, disclosed this while highlighting key objectives of his administration if voted into power in 2023.
The party stressed that the 24 years of PDP in Enugu were riddled with bad governance, wastage of public funds in policies and programmes, which are self-serving.
He added that electoral fraud, land grabbing, imposition of leaders from councilors to local government chairmen, legislative offices, among others, were the hallmark of the party.
According to the media office: “The Labour Party, as the people’s party, will allow communities and wards to select their leaders. We will go back to the good old days when people were chosen by their communities or wards to represent them as councilors or members of the state or federal legislature because of their good deeds.
“The Labour Party in Enugu will not write the names of would-be councilors or members of the State House of Assembly and push such names down to the electorate as has been the case in the last 24 years. The communities, wards or constituents will be given free hands to elect their leaders or representatives. The selection will be from bottom to the top, and not from top to bottom.”
It insisted that the Labour Party will not neglect primary school teachers or local council workers.
The media office added: “We will not discriminate against primary school teachers of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE).
“We will not tell them that they are not core civil servants, because we know they are and we are all partners in progress. There will be no room for discrimination against workers and non-workers. Every labourer deserves his wage.”
The party reiterated that primary school teachers and NULGE members are the engine room in the development of any state “and Enugu State will not and can never be an exception. We shall treat everyone equally because we are equal before the law. The professor, the governor, the president, the senator or member of the House of Assembly or House of Representatives is taught, first of all, by the kindergarten or primary school teacher.”
It called on all workers, who are aggrieved, to be hopeful of a better dawn, and enjoined all to work towards electing the Labour Party into government at all levels in 2023.
It said: “Let us be supporters of Peter Obi, Chijioke Edeoga and all other LP candidates. A new dawn is coming.”
