Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
The Nigeria Labour Congress in Delta State has shut the state secretariat and declared an indefinite strike following the death of a deputy director, Mr Unity Ekpevbughe Adeda, who reportedly died in hospital a day after an alleged assault at the Prof. Chike Odozien Secretariat in Asaba, paralysing official activities and forcing the state government to pledge a full investigation.
Workers under the NLC locked the entrances to the secretariat on Thursday, preventing access to offices and halting the transaction of government business as they demanded accountability for the death of their colleague, a Deputy Director in the Ministry of Secondary Education. The action, described by union leaders as a response to the failure of the state to guarantee the safety of civil servants at their duty posts, has effectively shut down administrative operations at one of the state's principal government complexes.
Addressing the protesting workers, the Delta State Chairman of the NLC, Comrade Goodluck Ofobruku, said the union could not remain silent while a public servant lost his life in circumstances it considered preventable. "We must assure workers that they are safe in their places of work," Ofobruku said. "And whoever is responsible for this beating that led to his untimely death must be brought to book before we come back." He said workers would return to their duties on Monday if the government provided a credible assurance of their safety, but would remain at home if their concerns were not addressed, signalling that the shutdown could extend beyond the weekend.
The Chairman of the Joint Civil Service Negotiating Council, Comrade Benson Efeotor, said the council had commenced efforts to establish what happened and had visited the Ministry of Education to obtain information about the deceased, who he said worked at the Science Centre. He appealed to workers to remain calm and to avoid violence or the destruction of property, urging them to allow the investigative process to unfold while maintaining pressure for answers.
Sources familiar with the incident alleged that the confrontation involved the Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Dr Kingsley Ashibogwu, and that Adeda was assaulted during the encounter. The sources further alleged that the commissioner asked Adeda whether he knew him, to which the deputy director reportedly replied that he did not. These allegations have not been independently established, the commissioner has not been convicted of any offence, and the circumstances surrounding Adeda's death remain the subject of investigation. The cause of death has not been confirmed, and the autopsy is expected to play a central role in determining what transpired.
Responding on behalf of the state government, the Commissioner for Works (Rural Roads) and Public Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu, assured workers that the matter would not be swept under the carpet. "There are different conjectures as to what may have led to the death of our brother who passed in the hospital. Perhaps, as the autopsy would have been able to establish, what transpired and indeed medical examination will determine the cause of death," he said. Aniagwu stressed that every human life deserved to be protected, regardless of the person's status or relationship to others, and commended the workers for handling the protest peacefully.
The death has raised difficult questions about the safety of civil servants within government premises, particularly in environments where senior officials and subordinates interact over matters that can escalate quickly. Civil servants in Delta State have in the past raised concerns about intimidation and the absence of formal grievance mechanisms capable of resolving workplace disputes before they turn confrontational. The NLC has consistently argued that the protection of workers is not a privilege but a statutory obligation on employers, and that state governments must be held to the same standards they demand of private organisations.
The shutdown also carries implications beyond the education ministry. A prolonged strike in Delta State would disrupt services across multiple ministries and agencies, delay the processing of documents and payments, and compound the frustrations of citizens who depend on government offices for routine transactions. The NLC's decision to close the secretariat rather than restrict the strike to the Ministry of Secondary Education reflects a deliberate escalation designed to force a swift government response.
The labour action comes amid heightened tension in the state's workforce following the implementation of the new national minimum wage and ongoing disputes over the computation of the salary structure. In Ondo State, the Nigeria Medical Association recently appealed to the governor to correct an error in the computation of the new structure, saying the wrong formula had been applied. Similar grievances have surfaced across states, and the Delta shutdown adds to a broader pattern of labour unrest that has accompanied the wage adjustment.
The incident also unfolds against a national political backdrop in which the 2027 general elections are less than four months away, with the presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, and the governorship and state assembly elections for February 6. Political violence and the conduct of state officials have become central campaign issues, and the death of a civil servant in a government complex will add to the scrutiny of how public institutions treat their employees.
For the family of Unity Ekpevbughe Adeda, the autopsy and the investigation represent the only available route to understanding what happened in the final hours before his death. For the NLC, the shutdown is both a protest and a negotiating position. The union has made clear that it will not return to work until the government provides credible assurance that the culprits will be held accountable and that workers will be protected. Whether that assurance comes in the form of arrests, suspensions, a judicial inquiry or a combination of measures will determine how quickly the secretariat reopens.
As things stand, the secretariat remains shut, the workers remain at home, and the state government has committed to an investigation it says will be thorough. For the hundreds of civil servants who reported to work only to be turned back, and for the ministry that must now operate without a deputy director, the cost of the tragedy continues to accumulate. The coming days will determine whether the government's response is sufficient to restore confidence and reopen the complex, or whether the shutdown becomes another prolonged confrontation between labour and the state.
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Would you like me to also rebuild the Labour Party zero-based budgeting report in the same corrected format? That one had the option block but included an unusual verification note in the body and a single display headline that didn't match the established pattern.
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