In a further solidarity move to protest the brutality of Joe Ajaero, the President of Nigeria Labour Congress, the Edo State chapter of the NLC on Wednesday, disrupted the inaugural sitting of the State Local Government Election Petitions Tribunal slated for Wednesday due to the ongoing national strike.
The Informant247 gathered that sitting had barely begun when officials of the NLC stormed the venue and ordered everybody out and shut the door to the building.
The tribunal was constituted by the State Chief Judge, and notice was given to concerned petitioners that the sitting would commence on Wednesday. It was gathered that the tribunal had 18 petitions before it and a limited time frame.
The immediate past president of the Nigeria Bar Association, Olumide Akpata, was among those at the court to observe the proceedings.
“Before the strike, we got a hearing notice for today and the inaugural sitting was supposed to be today (Wednesday) and because we didn’t get any other notice directing otherwise, we have to be here.
“We came fully prepared for the business of the day but before the commencement of the sitting, labour union leaders stormed the court premises and asked us to vacate the premises because of the strike action.
“The cases are time-bound but we will wait for further directives. The time can be extended because this is not caused by any of the parties.”
However, Odion Olaye, the Chairman of the Nigerian Labour Congress in Edo State, while commending the level of compliance in the state, added that the shutting down of the court complied with the ongoing strike.