Against the growing security risk in the country,
the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), on Monday, said the May Day celebration,
scheduled to hold on Thursday, will be held amid tight security.
While lamenting the lingering insecurity situation
in the country, as well as rising level of poverty, the congress warned those
attending not to carry any bags, while vehicles should be parked, at least, 200
meters away from the Eagles Square, venue of the programme.
The union said this year’s event is coming at a
time when the country was under attack from insurgents, while also urging the
government to take measures to end the siege.
Addressing a pre-May Day press conference in Abuja,
at the Labour House, chairman of the 2014 May Day celebration and NLC vice
president, Lucy Offiong, gave the theme for this year’s event as: “Building
enduring peace and unity: Panacea for sustainable national development.”
She said President Goodluck Jonathan, members of
the cabinet, as well as the Senate President and members of the Diplomatic
community are expected to grace the occasion.
“We intend to use this occasion to recommit the
labour movement in Nigeria to our collective desire for peace and unity,
without which our search for sustainable development will remain elusive.
“Also we hope to use the May Day to reiterate our
position that there is an intrinsic link between prevailing insecurity and
poverty, which has been engendered by corruption, mismanagement of the economy
by rapacious greed of the ruling class who have continued to churn out policies
in the interest of capital to the detriments of the interest of the working
people and other poor Nigerians,” she said.
Offiong stressed the need to recognise the
significance of shared prosperity as a basis for enduring peace and sustainable
national development.
“Everyone must feel obliged to render any kind of
assistance to security security agencies that will lead to the apprehension of
those responsible for these attacks by monitoring our neighborhoods at home, at
work and even the roads”
The NLC also called on security agencies to do all
they could to ensure the schoolgirls abducted by insurgents in Chibok, Borno
State, were rescued and returned to their parents.
FG
tightens security at international airports
IN view of the ongoing security threats across the country, President Goodluck
Jonathan, on Monday, read riot acts to government officials, including foreign
dignitaries and officials of multi-lateral institutions to henceforth submit
themselves to immigration officers for screening and clearance at the
international airports.
The new security measures, which take, effect from
May 1, will be rolled out at Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kano and Enugu
airports.
The presidential committee on airport security set
up by President Jonathan in 2013, led by Professor Sylvester Monye, dropped the
hint after inspecting the Murtala Muhammed Airport, on Monday.
The new airport security measures were rolled out
by government to tighten security around the international airports in the
country.
Professor Monye, who is also the Special Adviser to
the President on Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, said the new security
arrangement at the airports had become imperative, because of the prevailing
security situation in the country.
Monye said from May 1, no protocol officer/aide
would be allowed into the arrival/baggage halls of the five international
airports in the country.
According to him, the old practice where government
protocol officials, aides of dignitaries, protocol officers of private
companies, unauthorised uniformed and un-uniformed military and security
officials moved unhindered in restricted areas around the airport terminal
would no longer be tolerated.
He said the unwholesome milling around of such
personnel in the immigration and customs areas at the airport was now a threat
to national security.
The new directive, Monye said, was issued in view
of recent threat to national security, even as he said the government would
implement the new security measures without respect for anybody.
Monye said all security agencies at the airports
had been mobilised to arrest any violator.
The committee has representatives from Nigeria
Police, office of the National Security Adviser, Nigerian Army, Nigerian Air
force, Nigerian Customs Service, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA),
Department of State Security Services, Nigerian Immigration Service, the
Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Federal Road Safety Corps
(FRSC).
He said government was working on a single platform
to facilitate the exchange of information sharing for passenger profiling and
check-in, for the purpose of tracking persons on the watch list.
Part of the strategies to be used was the
re-calibration of operational equipment at the airports to facilitate screening
of passenger luggage without physical examination of the baggage.
The presidential aide said the office of the
Secretary to the Government of the Federation, had already issued circulars to
respective stakeholders on the implementation of the directive, even as airlines
had been notified as well.
Culled: www.tribune.com.ng
