Port Harcourt, Rivers State — The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Rivers State chapter, has directed all its members across the state’s 23 local government areas to begin a comprehensive seven-day warning strike.
The action, slated to commence from midnight on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, is a direct response to what the union describes as the “callous and unfair” decision by the Chairman of Emohua Local Government Area, Chidi Lloyd, to withhold the salaries of over 300 workers.
The strike directive was formally announced by the state president, Clifford Paul, and communicated through a circular issued on Monday by the State Secretary, Sunday Adeniran, to all state officers and branch chairmen. The circular instructs all local government employees to withdraw their services immediately and indefinitely until the union provides a further directive.
Escalating Conflict Over Mass Sacking
The dispute centers on Chairman Lloyd’s recurrent actions regarding employment within the Emohua council. During his initial term, Lloyd had controversially sacked more than 300 workers, alleging they were “ghost workers.”
However, upon the completion of Lloyd’s first tenure, the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, intervened, directing the immediate reinstatement and payment of the affected employees, questioning the authority the council chairman utilized for the mass termination.
Despite the governor’s clear directive, upon returning for his second term as LG Chairman, Lloyd allegedly repeated the action, again sacking the same 300 workers and denying them their rightful salaries, prompting the swift and unified response from NULGE.
Threat of Indefinite Shutdown
Clifford Paul, the NULGE State President, issued a stern warning that the current seven-day action is merely a precursor to a larger industrial dispute.
Paul insisted that the union would escalate the warning strike into an indefinite shutdown across all 23 local government councils if Chairman Lloyd fails to remit the outstanding salaries to the over 300 affected workers before the warning strike concludes.
“An injury to one is an injury to all,” Paul stated, emphasizing the union’s commitment to ensuring justice and adherence to the Governor’s previous order concerning the reinstated workers. The statewide withdrawal of services is expected to paralyze administrative functions at the grassroots level throughout the week.
