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Tag: labour

  • Establish labour unemployment centres, Oshiomhole advises govt

    The Federal Government has been urged to establish labour unemployment centres across the country.

    Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole  made the call in Abuja when he visited the Minister of Labour and Employment,  Dr Chris Ngige.

    He said the call was necessary to enable the ministry have comprehensive database of qualified but unemployed Nigerian youths.

    The governor noted that the administration of President Muhamadu Buhari made it clear that its primary purpose was to improve the welfare of the people. He said that only way to achieve this objective was through job creation.

    Oshiomhole said he benefited from the services provided by labour unemployment centres when he was in his early 20s. “The re-introduction of labour unemployment centres for the unemployed will create opportunity for employers of labour to contact and recruit people who registered.

    “It will also provide opportunity to those who registered to acquire training and also enroll in one form of apprenticeship or the other.

    The centres will also give employers the opportunity to carry out regular trade test, do proper grading of skilled and semi-skilled test among others,” he explained.

    Oshiomhole stated that this is one area the country has neglected over the years and that given the present circumstance, there is need to re-establish these centres.’

    He called on employers to inform the Ministry of Labour and Employment whenever they employ, dismiss and retrench members of staff in their various establishments.

    He also called for the review of expatriate quota for firms and industries operating in Nigeria.

    In his response, the minister told the governor that under his leadership, the ministry would experience turn around.

    He said the ministry would ensure that the aspirations of unemployed youths were met.

    James Ocholi, the Minister of State in the ministry, who praised the governor for his instructive suggestion, promising that the ministry would heed the advice.

  • Labour seeks effective implementation of budget

    Labour seeks effective implementation of budget

    Organised labour has praised the Federal Government for the N6.08 trillion 2016 budget announced on Tuesday. But it stressed the need for the budget’s implementation to the benefit of all Nigerians.

    Commenting on the budget,  the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) lauded the planned recruitment of 500,000 unemployed graduates and holders of National Certificate of Education (NCE) as teachers to curb the escalating rate of unemployment.

    In a statement signed by the Secretary-General, ASCSN, Comrade Bashir  Lawal, said: “We also commend Mr President for his decision to ensure that all the Federal Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) are captured and brought under the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) because this will not only reduce the burden of manual preparation of payrolls, but also curb cases of sharp practices in the system.”

    While praising the government for its resolve to compile the list of the poorest in order to implement its cash transfer programme, the union stressed the need for the policy to be transparent and inclusive without discrimination.

    ”We must equally express joy in the decision of Government to make good its promise to provide a meal per day for primary school pupils,” the union said.

    The ASCSN, however, frowned at the decision of the government that fuel subsidy would not be removed for now because the impression had been created that it might be removed later more-so that no provision was made for fuel subsidy in the budget estimate.

    Also, the National President  Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Comrade Bobboi Kaigama, praised the Federal Government for the N6.08 trillion 2016 budget. He however expressed concerned on the implementation of the budget.

    “However , we are worried that our challenge as a country as regards national budget is not how to propose, draft or present a good budget but its implementation. We are also worried that about N1.8 trillion of the budget will be borrowed to fund the budget.

    “The decision to recruit 500,000 unemployed graduates and  National Certificate of Education (NCE) holders as teachers to curb the escalating rate of unemployment and to ensure that all the Federal Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) are captured and brought under the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) are laudable ideas.

    He said the move would not only reduce the burden of manual preparation of payrolls,  but would also curb cases of sharp practices in the system and will also help to compile the list of the less-privileged in order to implement better transfer programme.

    “We urge that the policy be made transparent and inclusive without discrimination.

    “Additionally, we are still not comfortable with the decision  of government on subsidy. The Congress, therefore, demand for a stakeholders’ meeting which include labour to discuss the subsidy issue and why it has become impossible for us to refine and purchase fuel for  as low as N50 per litre. The price of crude oil in the international market had dropped drastically. This should have a direct effect on domestic consumption of the product,” he said.

    He said the proposed deficit financing  at N2.22 trillion was high, adding that this could be reduced by the recovery of stolen funds.

    “We therefore support the government to use looted funds for the benefit of Nigerians,” he said.

     

  • Our expectations from Labour Minister, by NLC, TUC

    Our expectations from Labour Minister, by NLC, TUC

    Labour – the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) – has outlined workers’ expectations from the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige.

    NLC President Comrade Ayuba Wabba said the appointment of  Ngige and the Minister of State, James Ocholi, came at a time Nigeria is weighed down by challenges. He said the ministers have the task of ensuring industrial peace and harmony.

    He said the ministry was unique in that it handles industrial relations matters, adding that the ministers must address casualisation.

    He said the ministers must tackle the “prevalent cases of casualisation and outsourcing of workers, which a number of employers have resorted to as a way of cutting costs and maximising profits that cut across both public and private sectors.”

    Wabba said there was the need for the ministers to sufficiently equip the ministry’s Factory Inspectorate Division to function optimally.

    “The Ministry is a specialised one because it deals with issues of industrial relations, labour treaties and convention and it’s a tripartite platform. Therefore, the ministers need to understand the workings of the ministry,” he said.

    “People think the ministry of labour exists just to manage strikes, but it goes beyond that. It is about managing people. The greatest asset that we have is the human resources, therefore, it is the most viable asset outside capital. In fact, labour is more important than capital because you can’t have the capital if you don’t have the mix of expertise and human resources,” he said.

    Wabba also said the ministers must address unemployment,  arguing that casualisation and outsourcing of workers are burning issues, which must not be left unresolved by the administration. He said employers resorted to casualisation and outsourcing because they don’t want to pay terminal benefits and decent wages to their workers.

    On the challenges before the new ministers, TUC Secretary-General Comrade Mohammed Lawal said the appointment of the ministers was a welcome development. He said Ngige, who was once a governor and civil servant, would bring his experience to bear on the labour sector, especially now that the sector is engulfed in minimum wage crisis.

    He said the ministers would have to stabilise the relationship between labour and the Federal Government. Another challenge before Ngige, he said, is how to resolve the crisis arising from the planned reversal of the minimum wage by some state governments.

    According to him, the new minister will also need to use the labour sector to promote the change mantra being championed by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

    He said TUC was ready to partner with the new ministers to resolve labour issues and promote economic growth.

    However, the Deputy President, National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), Comrade Ntukubes Mbang, said Ngige was a square peg in a round hole. He argued that as a medical doctor, he lacked the finesse and skills to resolve or manage industrial crisis.

    He, however, said the new minister would be challenged on how to tackle the hydra-headed problem of casualisation and outsourcing in the  sector.

  • NLC to present new minimum wage proposal

    NLC to present new minimum wage proposal

    Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Ayuba Wabba has said a new minimum wage will soon be presented to the government.

    Speaking at the delegate conference of the Non Academic Staff Union (NASU), Wabba said since the five- year period stipulated for the review of the minimum wage had lapsed, the NLC was working in collaboration with the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to arrive at a figure to be presented to government.

    He said the recent announcement by governors under the Nigeria Governors Forum that they could not continue to pay the N18,000 minimum wage was part of a ploy to frustrate the demand for an upward review.

    He vowed that the congress would make the states ungovernable for any governor that tinker with the current minimum wage, pointing out that the leadership of the labour movement in the country was committed to a review.

    While admitting the challenges in the economy, Comrade Wabba said “the fact that there is challenge in the economy does not mean that only the workers  should suffer the consequence.

    “We will ensure that any governor that they to reduce the N18,000 minimum wage will not have rest in his domain until the right thing is done. Reducing the minimum wage is something that cannot be defended. If political office holders still collect the same salaries nationwide, there is justification for anybody to be thinking of tinkering with the minimum wage.

    “I want to assure us that the issue of review of the minimum wage, the leadership stands on that. We are only trying to consult with the TUC to ensure that they don’t divide our rank and come up with a figure that we will make public before we make our demand. I think it is defensive for them to say that they cannot continue to pay the minimum wage. I also think that they are saying so because they know that the review is due”

    Comrade Wabba also called for a review of Privatisation policy of the government saying it has not yeilded the desired result especially in the power sector which he said has resulted into more darkness rather than leading to improved power supply.

    The outgoing President of NASU, Comrade Ladi Iliya admitted that President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the nation’s economy was in crisis, with industries daily winding up, jobs being lost, while galloping inflation is being experienced .

    According to her, “these are all indications of an economy in crisis. We call for the diversification of the economy to bring back on board agriculture, manufacturing and mining of the solid mineral”.

    She said further that it was unfortunate that only public service workers are the real tax payers, saying “it is doubtful whether the rich in the society do pay tax and if they do, the question is, do they pay correct tax”.

    She reminded Buhari that he was elected by Nigerians based on his anti corruption posture and appealed to the government to follow due process in the anti corruption war of the government so that the culprits will not escape Justice.

  • Labour urges Buhari not to sack DGs, directors

    Labour urges Buhari not to sack DGs, directors

    The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari not to sack the Directors-General, Assistant Directors, and Deputy Directors in federal parastatals because of the merger of some ministries.

    ASCSN Secretary-General Comrade Alade Bashir Lawal said in Lagos on Monday  that the plea was sequel to speculations in the media that many Assistant Directors, Deputy Directors, and Directors in federal ministries would be relieved of their duties the same way Permanent Secretaries were sacked by the government.

    He emphasised that the directorate cadre in the ministries are made up of career officers whose appointments are guided by the Public Service Rules (PSR) and the Federal Civil Service Commission’s guidelines on appointment, promotion, and discipline as well as the scheme of service. He noted that they are not political appointees like Permanent Secretaries that can be removed at will.

    In a related event, the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Rivers State chapter, has raised concerns about the economy, saying it is in a very bad shape and that the country is obviously not prepared for any sustained fall in crude oil price as global analysts forecast.

    It noted that global analysts like Goldman Sachs have forecast that oil price will remain at $50 per barrel till 2020.

    According to the congress, its main worry is that Nigeria is not prepared for any sustained fall in crude oil price going by economic indicators.

    “For instance, Nigeria has just only $2 billion in excess crude account, which reports say may soon be shared; less than $30 billion in external reserves; owes over $60 billion, even as many states in the country continue to seek for loans and bailout funds to pay workers’ salary,” TUC said

    It, therefore, expressed serious doubt that President Buhari will deliver on his campaign promises to Nigerians if the price of crude oil, which accounts for some 90 per cent of Nigeria’s total export revenue and 75 per cent of total consolidated revenue continues to hover around $50 per barrel between now and 2019 as forecast by global experts such as Goldman Sachs.

    In a presentation at a workshop by the chapter’s Chairman, Comrade Hyginus Chika Onuegbu, entitled: “The Historical Overview of the Impact of Global Oil Politics on Crude Oil Prices, Investments and Employment Relations in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry”, he said the fall in crude oil prices has already begun to take its toll on the oil and gas industry, cutting deep into revenue projections with big losses at the end of the third quarter of this year. It also led to significant contraction in exploration and production activities globally, as companies embarked on massive cost-cutting measures to weather the storm.

    According to him, the fall has begun to negatively impact on Nigeria’s oil and gas industry and, indeed, the economy, adding that there are fears that some 120,000 direct and indirect jobs may have been lost in the sector.

    “At present, many state governments are unable to pay the salaries of their workers as the federal allocation has dwindled seriously. Already, many of the state governments including states in the oil rich Niger Delta are resorting to borrowings and the federal government bailout funds to pay workers’ salaries,” Comrade Onuegbu said.

    As he noted, the fact remains that in the coming months, the country would rise above politics by making the needed bitter reforms if it must remain afloat. According to him, economic watchers foresee a situation where many state governments will in 2016 and 2017 or thereabout begin massive cut in public expenditure. This may even include discussions over lay-off of public sector employees if the government does not take urgent steps to mitigate the effects of the current economic crises occasioned by the fall in global crude oil price and oil theft continues unabated.

    Comrade Onuegbu noted that the situation in Nigeria is made worse by the fact that there are existing serious challenges in the industry, which are yet to be addressed by the government and other stakeholders.

     

     

     

  • Labour urges govt not to axe jobs

    Labour urges govt not to axe jobs

    The Association of Senior Civil Servants of  Nigeria (ASCSN) has urged the Federal Government not to use the opportunity of the staff screening to send  workers into the already saturated labour market.

    In a statement, the ASCSN National President, Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama, recalled that one of the cardinal campaign promises of Mr. President’s party was that it was going to create jobs for millions of jobless Nigerians.

    He said: “Even in a recent retreat organised by the Federal Government for ministers-designate, President Muhammadu Buhari re-emphasised the commitment of his administration to diversify the economy, upgrade infrastructure, and generate employment opportunities for the teeming jobless citizens.

    “We, therefore, urge the government to invest more energy in these areas to revitalise the economy instead of toeing the old pattern of resorting to retrenchment of civil servants once there is a minor hiccup in the economy,” Kaigama

    According to the ASCSN chief, the staff strength in the core civil service is less than 100,000 while that of the entire public service including the civil service is about 870,000.  These also include the Army, Navy, Air Force, Police, Customs, Immigration, universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and other agencices.

    “For a population of 180 million people, this is certainly insignificant when it is considered that employment generation and other welfare programmes for the citizens are part of government’s responsibility.  It is just a mere 0.48 per cent of the entire population.”

  • Labour seeks regional integration to improve workers’ welfare

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called for regional cooperation among African countries to improve workers’ welfare.

    Its President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba made the call at the opening of the Organisation of Trade Unions of West Africa (OTUWA) special delegates’ conference in Abuja.

    He noted that past efforts at regional integration had always focused on removing barriers to free trade, increasing free movement of people, labour, goods, and capital across borders, reducing the possibility of regional armed conflict and adopting a cohesive regional stance on policy issues in the sub-region

    He emphasised the importance of OTUWA for regional unity and cooperation of workers in meeting the challenges of globalisation and the increasingly competitive markets.

    He said: “It is our belief that trade unions’ regional solidarity is a possible solution to the continent’s deep and prolonged labour, economic and social crisis, at a time when the working people are experiencing the ‘race to the bottom’, prevalent neo-liberal policies of deregulation and privatization of national economies, while the continuing decline of state-imposed barriers to inter-country flows is paving the way for increased regional trade.”

    Wabba assured that the NLC would continue to play a vital role in the sustenance of  OTUWA and other African regional trade union organisations for the benefits of the workers in the sub-region and Africa as a whole.

    ”We must reflect on the fact that West African countries today are weakly integrated nationally, regionally, and internationally. Ethnic and socio-political divisions are particularly dominant in the region. Our trade unions are small and labour centres significantly fragmented in many of our countries, and these are impediments to regional integration.”

    He said regionally, West African countries are divided by a wide range of institutional, legal, socio-economic and cultural barriers. At the international trade union level, for instance, he said West Africa is increasingly being marginalised.

  • Bailout fund: Labour directs Kogi’s workers to stay off work

    Public servants in Kogi State have been directed to stay off work to protest the non-release of bailout funds by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    The directive is contained in a statement issued by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) last weekend.

    The statement, signed by NLC Secretary Mr John Faniyi and his TUC counterpart, Mr Joseph Kolawole expressed dissatisfaction over the non-release of the N50.8 billion bailout fund due to the state.

    “This directive is to serve as protest against the non-release of the money,’’ the statement said.

    The unions said they were surprised by the CBN’s/Federal Government’s  silence over the matter.

    Asking workers to comply with the order, the labour unions warned commissioners, permanent secretaries, directors and other categories of senior public officers not to report for work to avoid being embarrassed.

    In a related development, the Nigerian Association of Federal Civil Servants Co-operatives is set to acquire Kogi Micro Finance Bank to drive the process of easy access to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) N220 billion for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and to meet the specific needs of cooperative societies in Nigeria.

  • Labour seeks regional integration to improve workers’ welfare

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called for regional cooperation among African countries to improve workers’ welfare.

    Its President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba made the call during the weekend at the opening of the Organisation of Trade Unions of West Africa (OTUWA) special delegates’ conference in Abuja.

    He noted that past efforts at regional integration had always focused on removing barriers to free trade, increasing free movement of people, labour, goods, and capital across borders, reducing the possibility of regional armed conflict and adopting a cohesive regional stance on policy issues in the sub-region

    He emphasised the importance of OTUWA for regional unity and cooperation of workers in meeting the challenges of globalisation and the increasingly competitive markets.

    He said: “It is our belief that trade unions’ regional solidarity is a possible solution to the continent’s deep and prolonged labour, economic and social crisis, at a time when the working people are experiencing the ‘race to the bottom’, prevalent neo-liberal policies of deregulation and privatization of national economies, while the continuing decline of state-imposed barriers to inter-country flows is paving the way for increased regional trade.”

    Wabba assured that the NLC would continue to play a vital role in the sustenance of  OTUWA and other African regional trade union organisations for the benefits of the workers in the sub-region and Africa as a whole.

    ”We must reflect on the fact that West African countries today are weakly integrated nationally, regionally, and internationally. Ethnic and socio-political divisions are particularly dominant in the region. Our trade unions are small and labour centres significantly fragmented in many of our countries, and these are impediments to regional integration.”

    He said regionally, West African countries are divided by a wide range of institutional, legal, socio-economic and cultural barriers. At the international trade union level, for instance, he said West Africa is increasingly being marginalised.

    “What we require at this moment are efforts on all fronts to build and ensure a strong regional trade union organisation to address and overcome the sense of disconnectedness in international trade unionism and the global labour movement,” he stated.

  • Labour Party: Whither the acclaimed third force?

    Labour Party: Whither the acclaimed third force?

    Is the Labour Party (LP) still as promising as it was in 2007? Developments suggest not. LP, the emerging third force of Nigerian politics, as eagerly touted by many pundits following its surprise runs years back, has fallen into difficult times, reports Dare Odufowokan, Assistant Editor. 

    Many observers argue that the ongoing decline of the Labour Party (LP) didn’t start with the expected poor showing of the party at the last general election, but after the 2011 general election, following the failure of the leadership of the party to maximize the political mileage it got as a result of its brilliant flashes at that election.

    With the party now grappling with various problems ranging from factionalised state chapters, defection of leading figures and a troubled national leadership, not a few pundits are saying Labour’s era may now be over as it have failed to live up to expectation.

    Its heyday was between 2009 and 2012 when the emergence of Dr. Olusegun Mimiko as the Governor of Ondo state on its platform after years of legal battle, first forced Nigerians to reckon with the party which, though had been around for a while before then, was not seen as a serious contender for power anywhere in the country.

    With that development, LP became one of the ‘big five’ political parties. Joining the then ruling party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (A CN), the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) as political parties with state Governors.

    In no time, there were talks that the LP was the party of the Nigerian masses as represented by the workers. The party lapped unto this and went to town with talks about welfare, employment, trade unionism and similar ideologies. In the process, not a few Nigerian fell in love with the Dan Nwayanwu-led political party.

    A threatened party

    The crisis in the party climaxed some weeks back with the sealing of its national secretariat by a combine team of Police and other security operatives following alleged intelligence reports that a former national chairman of the party, Chief Dan Nwanyanwu, has allegedly recruited armed political thugs to forcefully remove the incumbent national chairman, Alhaji Abdulkadir Abdulsalam.

    Although the security operatives took positions in and around the premises for days, there was no incident whatsoever fuelling speculations that the allegation emanated from party chieftains’ fear that Nwayanwu may make good an earlier threat.

    The Nation learnt that trouble returned to the national leadership of the party following the decision of Nwayanwu to hand over its Certificate of Registration to the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) upon his exit from the party.

    Irked by the move, the National Working Committee (NWC) had described the handing over of its Certificate of Registration by Nwanyanwu to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), months after he had claimed that it was missing, as a criminal activity, urging the NLC to return the document to it.

    But Nwayanwu and some chieftains of the party alleged that Abdulsalam and other members of the current executive committee are impostors pretending to be leaders of the troubled party.

    “The Labour Party belongs to Nigerian workers under the auspices of the NLC and the Trade Union Congress, among others. So it is important for them to make it a vibrant party. It is time to get those that are qualified with knowledge to take up leadership positions in the party.

    “Let us get those who are qualified and support them because we have a strong base to win any election in this country if we are united to build and re-position it. I want the labour movement to send signals to its chapters on how to reposition the party because it is owned by workers and not the NLC,” Nwayanwu had argued.

    But the NWC of the party in a communiqué at the end of a meeting in Abuja and signed by its National Chairman, Alhaji Abdulkadir Abdulsalam and Deputy National Secretary, Julius Abure, passed a vote of confidence on the leadership of the party and said that Nwanyanwu is not a party member having resigned his membership on 5 December 2014 to join the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    However, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ended legitimacy crisis in the party by giving its Certificate of Registration to the Abdulsalam-led national leadership. A Certified True Copy of the CoR, dated May 25, 2005 and signed by a former chairman of the commission, Sir Abel Guobadia, was handed to him by INEC.

    “The LP leadership under A.A. Salam and Kayode Ajulo has been attending all meetings convened by INEC; I am not aware that there is any controversy in LP; you’re the one telling me. You said you have a letter and the letter speaks for itself. Is there anybody dragging leadership with them?

    The NLC is not a political party, but a labour union and a labour union cannot be a party. If you look at the constitution, only registered political parties can canvass for votes and parade themselves as political parties,” Director of Voter Education and Publicity in INEC, Mr. Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, stated.

    While there is little respite at the national level of the party for now, many observers say the Abdulsallam led executive are unsure of how to move the party forward. And the current state of the party, according to some inside sources, is not unconnected with the defection of some party bigwigs in recent times.

    The Exodus, the crises

    The exit of Governor Mimiko from the party to pitch his political camp with the PDP weeks before the last general election, was the greatest blow that struck the Labour Party.

    The Governor had explained his move by saying he moved to the PDP in order to galvanise support for ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election in the South-West zone of the country.

    “By this decision to return to the PDP, we have taken in the overall interest of our people and our nation, and its democracy which for those who are perceptive enough to notice, is now mortally endangered by a constellation of forces which must be confronted,” Mimiko said back then.

    Shortly after, former national chairman and then chairman, Board of Trustees of the LP, Chief Dan Nwanyanwu, promptly tendered his resignation letter from the party, alleging that misappropriation of party fund by the incumbent chairman.

    “I regret to observe that events in the Labour Party especially with regard to the handling of the recently concluded nomination of candidates on the platform of the party for the 2015 general elections are not in consonance with the integrity, transparency and accountability for which the Labour Party had achieved the reputation over the years.

    I have had cause to confront you personally with the information available to me regarding these matters of concern and I must admit that your incoherent answers created more doubts in my mind about your innocence,” Nwanyanwu said.

    From one state to the other, the party now have internal wrangling to contend with. Reeling from the loss it suffered in the hands of the People’s Democratic Party in the last general elections, the Ebonyi State chapter of the Labour Party was thrown into crisis.

    The chairman of the party, Sabastine Obyia, was on Saturday suspended for anti-party activities, gross misconduct and incompetence. Subsequently, Odoh Fidelis and Augustine Uguru were appointed acting chairman and secretary of the party.

    In a resolution signed during their emergency meeting, 25 state executive council, SEC, members said they lost confidence in Mr. Obyia’s leadership of the party. They accused the chairman of unlawfully suspending the party’s financial and organizing secretaries, Emmanuel Ibe and Augustine Nwankwo, respectively.

    But Obyia and some party members loyal to him continue to fight his removal fuelling insinuations that some politicians in the state are planning to hijack the party to achieve their selfish ambitions.

    He rejected the suspension, saying his accusers are not members of the Labour Party but those recruited by its governorship candidate in the last general election, Edward Nkwegu.

    He described his suspension as unlawful, adding that it was only the national secretariat of the party that had the right to suspend him. He also denied ever working with the ruling PDP in the state.

    From Ogun where the party’s gubernatorial candidate in the last election, Sina Kawonise, fought the then leadership of the party to a standstill before, during and after the election, to Ondo state where things have falling apart following Mimiko’s exit, and Plateau where the exit of former Governor Joshua Dariye threw the party into disarray, the centre is simply not holding for the Labour Party.

    However, Dr Kayode Ajulo, the National Secretary of the party, debunked claims that the party is engulfed in leadership crisis. “Let me state unequivocally that there is no crisis whatsoever in Labour Party. We are intact, the leadership cohesion is solid and very strong,” he said.