As the 2023 gubernatorial elections cone up in 72 hours, the leadership of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Lagos State Council wishes to reaffirm our support for the re-election of Mr. Governor, Babajide Olusola Sanwo’Olu to continue to pilot the affairs of the State.

Recall that the TUC Lagos alongside the NLC had on 12th January, 2023, trooped out en masse to endorse Mr. Governor’s re-election bid at the Police College Ikeja. We wish to reaffirm that this endorsement remains in force and unshaken.

We are deeply convinced that Mr Babajide Olusola Sanwo’Olu eminently deserves a second term based on his sterling performances in the last four years or thereabout. Mr. Governor, listens to the plight of workers and his policies are labour-friendly. Democracy is about inclusion, fairness and justice. The TUC has tested Mr. Governor, he is trusted and we have found him to have listening ears and a large heart to accommodate us.

For the first time in a long time, workers will be called upon to carry the burden of defending good performance and competence in the face of political uncertainty. We in TUC do not believe workers will shrink from this responsibility.

It is a fact that government beholden the people because it’s through the people that every elected government derives its power and it is precisely because of these that we are asking you the people to return Mr. Governor who has been generally adjudged as the best and most labour-friendly Governor in Nigeria since the return to democracy.

Consequently, ALL workers in the State, both in the private and public sectors, are hereby enjoined to troop out on Saturday 18th March, 2023 in large numbers and vote for a performing Governor who had never for a single day taken our welfare for granted. We are also using this medium to pledge that we shall mobilize all workers from the nook and cranny of the State to ensure a resounding victory for Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo’Olu and all other elective offices under his party, APC.

Mr. Governor has built a foundation of honesty and fairness with the workers of Lagos State and this surely has created a positive industrial relations climate in the State.

No doubts, lessons have been learnt, experiences gained and horizon broadened by the vast challenges thrown at Mr. Governor either by man or by nature. All these experiences will add value and will remain a plus point going forward for the growth and development of Lagos State.

As a Union comprising diverse ethnic and religious orientations, we condemn in its entirety all forms of ethnic and religious statements, jibes, tantrums and tirades intended to sow disaffection and engender animosity in the State.

Those fueling the embers of division should remember that when the elections are over, we all shall return to the same neighborhood, street, and the same market as human beings and not on the basis of any artificial barrier created by man to divide us for the purpose of selfish political gains.

We restate, for avoidance of any reasonable doubt, that progress, prosperity, industrial boom and economic development can only be attained and sustained under an atmosphere of peace, unity and ethno-religious diversity.

Gbenga Ekundayo
Chairman, TUC Lagos Council

Abiodun Aladetan
Secretary, TUC, Lagos Council
15th March, 2023.