By THOMPSON YAMPUT

The nationwide 2-day strike observed by NLC from Tuesday has crippled some essential banking and medical services in Kogi.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that in Lokoja, virtually all the commercial banks locked their gates to customers while the government-owned hospitals suffered total neglect as medical doctors, nurses and attendants stayed away.

A check around IBB way, where most of the commercial banks like UBA, Union Bank, Ecobank, Fidelity Bank, Unity Bank, zenith Bank, Access Bank, First bank, GT Bank and others are located, showed that customers deserted the area.

The entrances to all the banks were locked to customers with only the guards and security agents seen keeping vigil in their vicinities.

While residents in need of cash resorted to patronise POS services, the sick resorted to private hospitals for medical services in spite of the high cost involved.

A guard at GTBank simply called Adam, said, “There is no work today because of NLC two days warning strike. Nobody beside our manager came around today.”

At Federal University Teaching Hospital, Lokoja, and Kogi Specialist Hospital, only few medical doctors, nurses and attendants were seen in some of the wards where there were patients on admission.

A visit to the State Secretariat along Zone 8 road, Lokoja and other ministries in the state, showed that Kogi workers maximally obeyed the directive of the NLC.

The secretariat that used to be a beehive of several activities, was very scanty, while few workers on ground gathered in clusters under the trees, discussing the effects of the fuel subsidy removal and their expectations from the government.

This is because the NLC leadership in Kogi sent out monitoring and enforcement teams around the secretariat, ministries and agencies to monitor the strike to ensure total compliance in the state.

A worker from the Kogi State Environmental Sanitation Board, Mrs Joyce Ameh, told NAN that they were observing the strike, which explained why 95 per cent of their staff did not come to work

“The fuel subsidy removal is hitting hard on us, we have been spending almost 80 per cent of our salaries on transportation since the subsidy removal on May 29.

“We are appealing to the Federal and State Governments to listen to the cry of NLC and do the needful very urgent,” Ameh said.

Another worker from the state Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Mr Abubakar Omeiza, said that the warning strike was a welcome development, having been long overdue.

“The NLC monitoring and enforcement team came to the state secretariat this morning to ensure total compliance, and we are happy with that action.

“The governments must rise up to their core responsibilities because we cannot continue like this. The hardships have gone beyond control,” Omeiza said

Speaking on the strike, the Vice Chairman of NLC in Kogi, Mr Eleojo Opaluwa, expressed satisfaction with the level of compliance by the workers in the state.

“We are happy that the two-day national warning strike witnessed a total compliance in Lokoja, and the entire 21 local government areas of Kogi.

“We have moved round the MDAs and even banks, state-owned hospitals and other organizations; we are glad to inform you that the day one of the warning strike experienced huge success.

Opaluwa, who is a member of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) in Kogi, said the supply of electricity had been shut down in the entire state.

“As I am talking to you now, I am sure you don’t have electricity supply in your house because it has been shut down across the state.

“Even the supply to the Kogi State Government House has been shut down, so, if Government House electricity could be shut down, then the warning strike has witnessed 100 per cent success in Kogi,” Opaluwa said. (NAN)

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