Locked Assembly gate: Delta Speaker turns street boxer, engages protesting workers in fisticuffs

·         Workers express lack of trust in House leadership

·         Call Speaker ‘Sapele thug’

·         PASAN suspends strike following assurances by Timi, Mayuku, Okeme, Osanebi

It was a show of emotions, anger, fury and frustration on Wednesday (16/11/2016) morning when the Speaker of Delta state House of Assembly, Monday Igbuya before bewildered onlookers, resorted to the use of violence to gain access to the Assembly complex locked by striking workers who also formed human shield to barricade the gate to press home their demand for the payment of their entitlements.

Speaker's vehicle at the Assembly complex gate.

The Speaker’s official Lexus jeep drove to the gate of the Assembly complex and was stopped by the protesting workers who resisted his attempt to forcefully enter the complex without addressing their demands. Enraged by the boldness of the determined workers, the Speaker alighted from his jeep, walked furiously to the gate, and physically shoved aside a protesting staff blocking his move to enter the premises, in the ensuing melee, he clenched his fist like a boxer, angrily taunting the massed workers to approach him for exchange of blows.

PASAN leaders reporting back to workers on the meeting
with House Principal officers.

Seeing that the situation was degenerating into a free-for-all, the security orderlies attached to him swiftly moved him out of the brawl line, walking him through the foot path gate into the complex. Not done, the Speaker made for the gate to open it from his vantage position inside, the obviously now enraged workers resisted him forcefully, contested the gate with him in a tug of war, and successfully prevented him from opening the gate. Stupefied by the Speaker’s resort to violence, the workers rained abuses on him calling him “Sapele thug.”

To stop the hullaballo from further degenerating, other legislators quickly alighted from their vehicles, and went to broker peace with the Speaker and the workers. Their intervention paid off, creating an enabling atmosphere for a dialogue between the Speaker and other legislators, and the leadership of the workers, who were protesting under the aegis of the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN).

Inside the Assembly complex when the enraged Speaker
was being pacified to calm down.

Earlier in the brief congress the workers had during which the PASAN Chairman, Comrade Emmanuel Edozie reported the outcome of their meeting with the speaker the previous day, he said:

PASAN members enforcing no entry into the Assembly
complex .

“The earlier strike was not called off but suspended, since the resumed strike, we have gathered in the Speaker’s house yesterday, (Tuesday, 15/11/2016) for a tripartite meeting involving PASAN executive, NLC and the principal officers of the Assembly. There, we gathered in the Speaker’s house that His Excellency, the Governor has approved our demands. We have been assured that Governor has approved our demands, and I believe they cannot lie to NLC. I have not seen the approval, but I believe that the entire House cannot lie,”

House members's vehicles prevented from entering the Assembly
complex by the protesting PASAN members.

In their response, the workers some of who took turns to speak were wary of the promises. One of them said: “The leadership of the House of Assembly has not earned our trust. We advocate that the status quo remains until we receive concrete evidence of the approval. We know how politicians do, and have their way. No alert, no strike call-off. We have been deceived before."          

With the Speaker now calm and the equally calm attention of the workers secured,  Dr. Tonye Timi, Barrister Daniel Mayuku, both lawmakers, Deputy Speaker Rt. Hon. Friday Osanebi and Mr. Mike Okeme, special adviser on Labour to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa were able to speak with the PASAN members, reassuring them that their four-point demand has been approved by the governor; that the Governor has approved payment of outfit allowance; that the staff clinic will be equipped with drugs, and that the appointment of deputy clerk will be handled administratively. They pleaded with the workers to open the gate, suspend their strike and give them the benefit of doubt about the promise of approval.

After a heated congress later, the PASAN leadership suspended the strike. A statement to this effect signed by Comrade Emmanuel Edozie and secretary Comrade Emmanuel Osubor stated: “ Arising from the intervention of the Special assistant to the Governor of Delta State on labour matters and the Nigerian Labour congress, and based on the negotiations and avowals of the leadership of the Delta state house of Assembly, PASAN in confidence and trust that the issues raised in our communiqué of 31^st October, 2016 would be resolved immediately, hereby suspend the ongoing strike.

“PASAN also has the assurances of the leadership of the House that no member staff of the House of Assembly Service Commission would be victimized or witch-hunted in anyway, form or manner by reason of this industrial action.

“To this end, staff of the House of Assembly Service Commission and the Delta State House of Assembly Complex are advised to resume and go about their normal duties.”