Amgbare Ekaunkumo, Yenagoa
The Organized Labour in Bayelsa State under the auspices of the Workers Political Movement (WPM) has held a one day sensitization rally in Yenagoa as part of measures to sensitize the good people of the state to troop out and collect their permanent voters cards ( PVC) at the various collection centers designated by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
The group noted that the move was conceived to create awareness on the Nigerian workforce to take active interest in who governs them to create better working conditions.
The sensitization rally which begins at the Ompadec junction in Amarata moved through the busy Yenagoa/Mbiama road and terminated at the State Secretariat with participants carrying placard bearing various inscriptions such as” Wise people vote wisely, Be part of the decision Makers.
Other inscriptions read” Your vote is your power, your PVC is your weapon and Bad people wins when we stay away from elections”.
Speaking at the State Secretariat, the Secretary of Workers Political Movement, (WPM) Comrade.David Oyintari Emiebor, who is also the Bayelsa State Chairman of Radio and Television Workers Union(RATTAWU) said, the sensitization rally was intended to awakening the consciousness of workers and Bayelsans in general to be involved in Bayelsa State politics and Nigeria at large.
He urged all workers in the State to go out and collect their PVCs, saying it is the only potent weapon for them to exercise their franchise to elect credible leaders at various levels of governance that will identify with their yearnings and aspirations to secure meaningful livelihood.
He noted that workers can no longer shy away from active politics stressing that with recent nation’s Judicial pronouncements that have confered on public sector workers the leverage to participate actively in the political processes.
In his words” The rally was organized to awaken the consciousness of workers to get involve in politics of our Nation and our State, in other words to get involve in who rules us, who governs us across all levels of governance in Nigeria.
” Workers political movement is calling on all workers in both public and private sectors to be involved in who leads us. We are saying that those that are interested in governance must take into cognizance the place of the workforce, because we create the wealth and as such we must be part of the decision making process”.
He also called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to extend the dates of the proposed distribution of Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) to Local Government Areas in Bayelsa State which the Commission has slated to hold from 12th-18th November, 2022 across all registration areas in Nigeria.
He said the call became necessary due to the fact that 98% of the state is still under flood and most of the towns and villages are inaccessible and unhabitable which may likely persist through the proposed period of the distribution.
In their separate remarks, the Chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress, Bayelsa State Chapter, Comrade Bipere Ndiomu John and his Trade Union Congress counterpart, Comrade Laye Julius said the exercise was conceived to re-awaken the consciousness of Bayelsa workers to come out enmasse to collect their PVCs saying the era where workers are apolitical is gone.
The duo said, this is the right time for workers to take their destinies in their hands and the only way is to vote credible leaders at the 2023 general elections.
