Nigerian workers are constitutionally-free to participate in politics, lawyer, Femi Falana, has said.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria, (SAN), who stated this while responding to the warning from the central government to civil servants to stay off politics, relied on the position of the Supreme Court, which tagged the keep-off order ‘hare-brained’.
Recall that the Head of Service of the Federation, Folashade Yemi-Esan, in a memo dated May 5, 2022, ordered civil servants to abide by the provisions of the Public Service Rules (PSR) (2008 edition) on partisan politics. She said her office had been inundated with requests for clarification on the apex court judgment.
She reached her stay-off conclusion on the strength of a legal opinion issued by the Attorney-General of the Federation, (AGF), Abubakar Malami, (SAN) . Falana, however, faulted the conclusion and by extension the premise (Malamis opinion).
In a lengthy op-ed, made available to newsmen, Falana noted, Like other citizens, workers are equally entitled, by virtue of section 39 of the Constitution, to freedom of expression, including the freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference.
He added, In addition to constitutional provisions, the Government of Nigeria has ratified the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)5 both of 1966 as well the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR) 1981 which guarantee freedom of association and freedom of expression.
Indeed, the right of workers to associate and organise is enshrined in the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention 1948 (No. 87)6 and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention 1949 (No. 98) of the International Labour Organisation, (ILO). Section 254C(2) of the Constitution has conferred exclusive jurisdiction on the National Industrial Court to enforce provisions of all ILO Conventions that have been ratified by Nigeria.
It is, therefore, incumbent on workers in the private and public sectors to stop agonising about the problems confronting the country.
