By Tony Edike, Vincent Ujumadu & Anayo Okoli
ENUGU—ACTIVITIES were grounded in federal and state-owned establishments in Enugu State Wednesday as workers joined the nationwide strike to compel the Federal Government to implement the N18,000 new minimum wage.

Similarly, civil servants in Anambra State also complied with the three-day nationwide warning strike by the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC.

As early as 9 am, the main entrance to the Federal Secretariat at the Independence Layout, Enugu which houses Federal Ministries, Parastatals and Agencies including the Nigeria Immigration Service, National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control, NAFDAC and the Federal Ministry of Works was locked denying the workers access to their offices.

The Enugu Zonal office of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN was also shut by officials of the National Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE who ordered the workers to return to their homes as early as 8 am in compliance to the directive by the national leadership of the union on the strike.

PHCN’s Principal Manager Public Affairs in Enugu , Mr. Eseme Udoh and other management staff of the company were seen at the gate but the union officials refused to open the gate which was under lock and key.  However, power supply to Enugu State capital was suspended as early as 6am yesterday but the NUEE officials declined comments on whether the outage was as a result of the strike.

The Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, FRCN’s Coal City FM 92.8 also went off air for several hours yesterday following the decision of the workers to join the strike while academic activities in government-owned institutions were also paralysed yesterday.

Primary school pupils and secondary school students were turned back by their teachers who were ordered by officials of Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT to vacate the schools.

However, the negative impact of the warning strike is already being felt by motorists in Enugu as the independent petroleum products marketers have increased the pump price of petrol from N65 to N70 blaming the increase on the nationwide strike.

Although officials of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association, IPMAN in Enugu could not be reached yesterday, Vanguard learnt that the increase in fuel price commenced on Monday ahead of the nationwide strike that began yesterday.

Officials of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC and Trade Union Congress, TUC in Enugu were not present in their offices when Vanguard visited yesterday as they were said have gone to the field to enforce the strike.

Meanwhile, all state and federal government offices, as well as banks in Anambra State did not open for business yesterday and school children had to  turn back after noticing that their teachers did not come to school.

However, petrol stations in the state sold fuel at the normal N65 per litre and there were no queues whatsoever in any part of the state.

State chairman of the NLC, Chief Anthony Ugozor, said in a telephone interview that he was satisfied with the level of compliance of the warning strike and commended workers in the state for not letting the union down.

He hoped that the federal government would agree to implement the demand of labour, adding that the N18000 minimum wage was something any government could afford to pay its workers.

In a similar vein, the strike called yesterday by organized labour was effective in Umuahia, capital of Abia State, as public offices were totally closed down.

Both the Nnamdi Azikiwe Secretariat and the other ministries scattered all over the Umuahia were all closed in response to the directive of labour. Banks and schools were also closed.

Some teachers who were attending a computer course at Ibeku High School were chased out by the monitoring team set up by labour in the state to ensure total compliance.

However, the story was different in Aba, the commercial capital where banks were open for business. But government the few government offices in the city were closed.
Commercial activities were in full swing in the city as shops and other businesses are open and being a private sector driven city, other commercial ventures were open.

According to a source, the banks decided to open to capitalize on the business that is gradually picking up after the dull era when the city was deserted by residents on account of the rampaging kidnappers and other criminal elements who seized the city.