From Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
Ogun State governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun has commiserated with the organised labour, the Nigerian Union of Teachers and the family of Mr Sunday Ogunjimi, a teacher who slumped and died on Friday at the secretariat of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) in Abeokuta.
Ogunjimi, along with his colleagues, had converged on the Ogun NLC Secretariat to listen to the leaders of the labour movement on the resolution of the industrial action the workers embarked upon when he allegedly slumped and died.
The governor, while commiserating with the family of the deceased and the state workforce, said he received the sudden and unfortunate death of Ogunjimi with great shock and sadness.
In a statement issued on his behalf by the Secretary to the State Government, Tokunbo Talabi, on Sunday, the governor described the death of the late comrade as a big loss not only to his immediate family and labour, but the state at large.
Abiodun said, “We are pained by the unfortunate death of your colleague, amiable father and a resourceful teacher in Odeda. As a workers’ loving government, losing a worker in such a circumstance is so devastating, moreso that the late teacher in question was doing exceptionally well to uplift the standard of public discourse and breed better understanding between the goverment and workers through a peaceful mean – dialogue.”
The governor called on the colleagues of the deceased to immortalize him by honouring the agreement and urged them to continue with the pursuit of peaceful negotiations for which the teacher lived.
He reiterated the government’s commitment to the welfare and wellbeing of the workforce, stressing that “our and administration is a promise-keeping one and we shall strive to honour all the terms on the agreement reached with the labour leaders”.
Abiodun added that although death is an inevitable end to all mortals, people should endeavour to take personal health more seriously and ensure that they rest very well.
“On our part, the government has invested a lot in the health sector and even provided a health insurance scheme that is worker-friendly and affordable at all levels starting with our primary health centres up to the tertiary”, the statement noted
The governor also explained that as a responsible government, his administration would continue to stand with the people of the state in both bad and good times.