Railway Workers Protest, Threaten To Sue Govt Over Demolition Of Railway Quarters
Workers of Nigerian Railway Corporation, Enugu, on Tuesday, staged peaceful protest in Enugu and threatened to drag the state government to court for demolishing their offices and staff quarters.
The workers gave a seven-day ultimatum to the Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, to negotiate with them on how the demolished structures would be replaced.
As part of its urban renewal programme for the proposed Enugu Central Station, the governor, on Friday, began the demolition of properties on 30,000 square metres inside the Railway Corporation in the Holy Ghost area.
Several occupants had since gone to court with a few obtaining judgment against the exercise, but the state government claimed that it had a Memorandum of Understanding with the Railway Property Management who leased the property to the occupants.
He also claimed that the government had paid compensation to the Railway Property and some occupants.
However, during the protest on Tuesday, the President-General of the Nigerian Union of Railway Workers, Innocent Ajiji, described the demolition as outrageous and unacceptable, adding that the government carried out the exercise with impunity.
Ajiji maintained that contrary to the claim by the government, there was no negotiation with Railway Property Management or the worker’s unions.
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