The Nation Newspaper

Tag: NLC

  • NLC breaks into two factions

    NLC breaks into two factions

    •Wabba’s emergence as President disputed

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) yesterday broke into two factions following the emergence of Dr. Ayuba Wabba of the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria as the new president of the congress.

    He had defeated Comrade Joseph Ajaero of the National Union of Electricity Employees by 1, 695 of the 3115 votes cast at  Friday’s rescheduled National Delegates Conference of the NLC in Abuja.

    Ajaero polled 1,140 votes but vehemently disputed the result declared by the returning officer and pioneer General Secretary of the NLC, Dangiwa Aliyu.

    Elected as deputy presidents were Adeyemi Peters, Kiri Mohammed and Najeem Yasen.

    Comrades Issa Aremu and Igwe Achese who had also been defeated in the race for NLC deputy president teamed up with Ajaero to rubbish the election.

    They branded the process as faulty and reminiscent of the earlier delegates’ conference that was aborted last month.

    The Restoration Group as they called themselves, accused the former NLC President, Abdulwaheed Omar of engineering the emergence of Wabba and rejected the outcome of the election.

    The group fixed Saturday, March 21 for a special delegates’ conference in Lagos for the purpose of electing a new NLC  leadership with a view to “restoring the credibility of the congress.”

    Ajaero, addressing reporters on behalf of his group, said the special delegates’ conference would prove to Nigerians that the congress has the capacity to organise credible elections.

    He said what transpired in Abuja on Friday through yesterday morning negated trade union tradition.

    He said the group had already reached out to majority of industrial   unions to participate in the Lagos special delegates’ conference.

    43 of such unions, he said, would be represented by 10 delegates each.

    Also speaking, the General Secretary of the National Union of Textiles, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, Issa Aremu, said their decision was not to divide the NLC, but to make it stronger and more united.

    Aremu, who lost the position of Deputy President said: “Disagreements, contestations are part of our heritage and tradition. Nigeria Labour Congress is made up of industrial unions. NLC also has rules and when rules are violated, members are encouraged to fight it and restore proper rules. That is exactly what we are doing.

    “What we are doing here is saying that the rescheduled election has followed the same pattern of the first one. Less transparent, cumbersome and the results not acceptable to us and we are doing so as bona fide members of Nigeria Labour Congress.

    “We are bona fide affiliates of the Nigeria Labour Congress and what we are doing here is purely constitutional. The election was an illegal election and we said that our polling agents are not signing and the results  are not binding on us. If you look at our constitution, it allows for special delegates conference called by CWC and NEC members.

    “These are NEC members and CWC and we have convened one to come up next Saturday so that we will have a proper election that will reflect our tradition.

    “Don’t forget that we have done this before. The election that brought Comrade Adams Oshiomhole in 1999 was a special delegates’ conference after a long period of military rule and in that election, we allowed for equal delegates.

    “That is what we are doing now  and save our union from anti- democratic forces and our comrades who do not want to follow rules and want to have short cut to leadership and have leadership without responsibility. We are not just looking for positions; we are also willing to serve the Nigerian worker.”

    Aremu said that the meeting condemned what he described as the meddlesome role of the immediate past President, Abdulwahid Omar in the election, adding that once the house has been dissolved, he should not be seen on the floor sorting out ballot papers with a view to putting his favoured candidate in power.

    However, NLC Secretary General Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson said in a statement yesterday that the Friday election could not have been more successful and transparent.

    Ozo-Eson, in the statement entitled “Do not be agents of destabilisation,” dismissed Ajaero and his group as individuals driven by inordinate ambition and vainglory.

    He advised affiliate unions of the congress to ignore invitation to a fresh delegates’ conference, saying: “The processes leading to the elections and the elections themselves were manifestly transparent, incontestable and unimpeachable. All the contestants and their delegates voluntary lent and submitted themselves to the electioneering/voting processes.

    “At no time, from the commencement of the accreditation of delegates to the voting, counting of votes and announcement of results was any complaint raised or lodged.

    “Congress therefore finds it necessary to advise that individuals should resist the temptation to be used as agents of factionalisation or destabilisation of the Congress. The Congress is bigger than any of us”.

    Dr. Ozo-Eson also announced the conclusion of the Delegates Conference with the election of Comrade Ayuba Wabba,  President; Comrades Peters Adeyemi, Kiri Mohammed and Najeem Yasin, Deputy Presidents; Comrades Asuguni Amechi, Dutsinma Lawal and Oyelekan Lateef as Vice Presidents (un-opposed) and  Khaleel Ibrahim, National Treasurer (un-opposed).

    Also elected were Comrades Boniface Isok (Trustee); Safiyanu Mohammed (Financial Secretary); Anchaver Simeon (Auditor), Leke Success (Auditor), Yemisi Bamgbose (Auditor); Amina Danesi (Ex-offcio) and Comfort Oko (Ex-officio).

    They are to run the affairs of the Congress for the next four years.

    He said that “accreditation of delegates (3119) from all the affiliate unions of the Congress commenced on Thursday, March 12, 2015 at Eagle Square after which voting commenced in the full glare of delegates and invited guests and veterans of the Congress.

    “The election of the members of the National Administrative Council (NAC) of the Congress brings to a conclusive end the 11th Delegates Conference of the Nigeria Labour Congress.

    “Congress wishes to express its appreciation to unions, delegates, invited guests, veterans and members of the media for keeping faith in spite of the grueling hours the process took.”

  • Update: Factions emerge over NLC election result

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has split into two factions following the election of its national officers at the rescheduled 11th National Delegates Conference held at the Eagle Square, Abuja.
    The election whose result was announced at about 3.30 am on Saturday Morning, 24 hours after the completion of voting saw Dr. Ayuba Wabba of the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria defeating his opponent, Comrade Joseph Ajaero of the National Union of Electricity Employees to emerge the new President.
    Announcing the results of the election which started at about 5.00pm on Thursday, March 12, the retuning officer and pioneer General Secretary of the NLC,  Dangiwa Aliyu said that Wabba emerged winner having pulled 1, 695 votes of the 3115 votes cast while his main rival, Joe Ajaero pulled 1, 140 votes.
    3119 delegates from 43 affiliate unions of the NLC were accredited for the election.
    Aliyu also declared Adeyemi Peters, Kiri Mohammed and Najeem Yasen as Deputy Presidents, defeating Issa Aremu, and Igwe Achese respectively.
    However, Joseph Ajaero, Issa Aremu and Igwe Achese rejected the outcome of the elections saying the entire process was faulty like the aborted delegate conference which was disrupted by the same group.
    The Ajaero’s group which contested the election under the Name Restoration Group said they will not accept the results of the election and accused the former President, Abdulwahid Omar of doing everything possible to ensure that his preferred candidate emerge winner.
    The Ajaero group has however said it was organising a special delegate conference in Lagos on Saturday, March 21 for the purpose of electing a new leadership for the NLC and restore the credibility of the Union.
    Addressing a news conference after their meeting, Ajaero said that special delegate conferences are recognised by the constitution of the Congress, pointing out that they want to prove to Nigerians that they have the capacity to organise credible elections.
    He said “the events of the last one month seem to have troubled our mind so much because that is not a trade union tradition”.
    However, General Secretary of National Union of Textiles, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, Issa Aremu said the happenings in the congress is not meant to divide  the NLC, but to make it stronger and more united.
    Aremu who lost the position of Deputy President said “disagreement, counter accusations are part of our heritage and tradition. Nigeria Labour Congress is made up of industrial unions. NLC also has rules when rules are violated, members are encouraged to fight it and restore proper rules. That is exactly what we are doing.
    “What we are doing here is saying that the rescheduled election has followed the same pattern of the first one. Less transparent, cumbersome and the results not acceptable to us and we are doing so as bonafide members of Nigeria Labour Congress.”

  • Wabba elected NLC President

    Wabba elected NLC President

    The National President of the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria, Comrade Ayuba Wabba in the early hours of Saturday emerged the National President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
    Ayuba who was declared winner of the election by the Chairman of the Electoral Committee and National a President of ASUU, Nasir Fagge at about 3.00am, defeated his rival, Joseph Ajaero of the National Union of Electricity Workers in an election which lasted two days at the Eagle Square Abuja.
    Details later

  • NECA urges NLC to redeem image

    The re-scheduled Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) election should be about redeeming the image of the organised labour movement, Director-General, Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), Mr. Segun Oshinowo has said.

    “This time around they just have to get it right. What happened during the delegates conference recently in Abuja has really cast a lot of aspersion on the integrity of the organised labour,” he said.

    While noting that it was the first time organised labour would act in such a manner at any of their gatherings, Mr. Oshinowo described the manner the NLC election ended as shameful, embarrassing, ridiculous and a dent on the image of the movement.

    He said: “What happened at the election eroded their moral credentials to condemn or commend what happens in the larger society, saying it was a minus.”

    The NECA boss, however, commended the members of the trade movement for rising in total condemnation of the act and their readiness to correct the anomaly. “I am happy that our colleagues on the other side have not spared themselves in condemning the shameful act, bearing in mind the position of the NLC in the society,” he said.

    Oshinowo expressed displeasure over the ugly incidenct, which he said happened during the nation’s general election period. Besides, the Congress had, at the opening ceremony of the delegates conference, promised to use its election to serve as model for the nation’s politicians.

    It would be recalled that the NLC 11th delegate conference election held at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, ended abruptly when pandemonium broke out due to some irregularities observed on the ballot papers.

  • Another botched NLC polls looms – NLC VP

    The Vice President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and General Secretary of the National Union of Textile Garments and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN), Comrade Issa Aremu has raised an alarm that the rescheduled election of the union may be faced with another crisis if certain constitutional issues are not addressed before the rescheduled date.

    The National Executive Council (NEC) of NLC has fixed Thursday March 12th, 2015 for the conclusion of the 11th Delegates Conference of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) dealing with election of National Officials of Congress.

    Comrade Aremu who is also vying for the post of Deputy President which was hitherto unopposed before other contestants indicated interest after the names of cleared candidates were released, said, as a union they are committed to make sure the new date of 12th March 2015 is a reality.

    He stressed however that “if we must ensure a successful election and avoid the crisis that marred the previous election, basic rules and practices guiding elections must be strictly followed. There must be fairness and equal level playing field for all contestants.

    “We call on the NLC General Secretary to make sure the new election is not marred with the mistake of the past so that we can have a free and fair election.

    “We raise this point against the background of our observation from the new list of contestants circulated to all industrial unions by the General Secretary of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson.

    “The list of contestants did not follow alphabetical order even when the General Secretary clearly stated in the letter dated February 26, 2015 to all the unions that accreditation of delegates will be based on alphabetical order. The contestants’ names were listed in a way that it suggests partisanship.

    “It will be recalled that our union was the first, prior to the botched NLC Delegates Conference to raise the danger of possible crisis if basic rules and practices of NLC guiding elections are not followed. We were vindicated through the avoidable crisis that marred that election.‎

    “We warn that all lovers of the labour movement must be interested in what is going at the NLC.

    “Nigerian workers and indeed all Nigerians, labour veterans and friends of labour will not accept another so-called “printing errors” such as multiple ballot papers for a contestant.

    “We really do not want to believe that the General Secretary of NLC, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson is incompetent, dishonest and partisan in such a way that he will refuse to follow the basic rules and practices guiding elections such as listing the names of contestants in alphabetical order.

    “We hereby demand that the circulated list of contestants should be withdrawn and a fresh list of contestants arranged in alphabetical order be reissued to all affiliate unions by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). This should also reflect in the ballot papers.

    “The NLC General Secretary should stop turning Comrades against Comrades. There should be strict application of basic rules and practices to avoid the ugly experience of the recent past.”

  • Shame, NLC, shame

    SIR: ‘’Against popular opinion and allegations of a sinister motive, INEC has been made to postpone the general elections. We would want to register our disappointment about this development…any further attempt to frustrate the process of the general elections by whatever means, a postponement or otherwise, shall be resisted.’’ –Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on February 9, condemning the postponement of Nigeria’s general elections.

    Fate has an uncanny way of bringing us face to face with the bitter truths concerning the lies and deceits we surreptitiously, deliberately design and peddle as gospel truths which at once cast us in the image of saints and demonize others. The Greeks called it nemesis. For their presumption and holier than thou posturing, which the Greeks called hubris, so eloquently captured in the above quotation about the postponed elections, the NLC was sufficiently and well shamed and exposed only three days later when it ironically, woefully, failed to conduct its own general elections as they ended midway in utter pandemonium!

    For the records, the NLC’s 11th delegates’ conference was convened in order to hold elections into executive positions on Thursday, February 12. But this was not to be as the elections suddenly ended in chaos. The depressing pictures of scattered ballot boxes, torn ballot papers and upturned and broken tables and chairs that showcased the commotion that characterized the botched elections is a perfect replay of the typical narrative and scenario that have become a worrying, recurring decimal in Nigeria’s wider political landscape, elections especially.

    We have become so used to talking about and castigating the Nigerian political elite of corruption and all of its various ugly derivatives that we forget that, one way or the other, we ourselves have become willing accomplices in these devious crimes or are, worst of all (as we have seen in the case of the NLC), even more culpable culprits because we have bred and raised our own versions of this prevailing monstrosity. But what makes it more reprehensible is the fact that we secretly perpetrate this corruption and hide under the veneer of the privilege, a sense of immunity, integrity and respect our being unionists and social critics confer on us. We shamelessly perpetrate even more grievous sins than those for which we take delight and relish in maliciously accusing and castigating others so as to appear as saints.

    Nigeria is slowly inching towards the precipice because those ferocious flames of corruption are being further fanned by hypocrisy and this cynical holier than thou attitude. Generally speaking, institutions in Nigeria are still weak and at best still slowly evolving. And the price of this is this pervasive weakness in character and a blurred perception of what is wrong and right in both the ruling elite and the citizenry as a whole. And the leadership of labour is by all intents and purposes part and parcel of this ruling elite, despite the illusion of their being self-styled comrades.

    • Chris Gyang,

    Jos, Plateau State

  • One scam too many

    • The scandal that has trailed NLC’s plan to provide workers with affordable houses in Abuja underlines decline in standards

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has to do more than explain its part in what has become an illustration of the sorry state of things in the country. Almost all institutions and sectors have been desecrated and what could be called the national standard is well below even regional standard in Africa. More than 3,000 workers who believe in the integrity of the umbrella Labour organisation had responded positively to an advertisement in May 2013, that it was in the process of building an estate where a deposit of at least 10 per cent of a minimum of N4.6 million would make one own a house in the federal capital territory. To those who immediately paid, it was a dream come true.

    It appeared all worked out. A developer who would secure the necessary fund offshore was introduced. The NLC said it was in the process of getting the land and the housing units were to be delivered to subscribers by December 2014. In a short period, about N4 billion had been deposited in the joint account opened for the project jointly by Kriston Lally PLC and the NLC.

    But about two months after the December deadline for delivery, there is no site in place, let alone development. It is as bad as scams go.

    It is unfortunate that the NLC is trying to explain away the situation, blaming it all on the developers. The questions being asked by the subscribers include whether due diligence was conducted before the developer was chosen for the project? Who are the developers and what is their antecedence? What has become of the money deposited and how could the developers have made away with it without the connivance of Labour leaders who are joint signatories.

    More importantly, we ask: what steps has the NLC taken on the matter so far? At what point did it become apparent that something fishy was going on and were the subscribers fully briefed at that point? We call on the Labour movement to get the security agencies involved in the matter at once. Both the Labour bureaucrats and Kristal Lally’s promoters should be grilled for the part they played in this messy scandal.

    How could a working people’s organisation prey on deficit in housing supply to the same people? By the World Bank account, there is a deficit of 17 million housing units in Nigeria and most of the poor people cannot even afford decent meals. The bank also says about N60 billion would be needed to provide the shortfall over coming years. Realising this, the NLC plotted to draw in people who saw it as the way out of their predicament.

    There was a time when the Labour movement was the conscience of the nation; at the forefront of the fight for a better life for the people and the first to lead the struggle for a just society. This seems to be in the distant past now. It seems what we now have in place are a bunch of Labour leaders who are too seized of personal comfort to think of the working people. The show of shame at NLC’s 22 delegates conference last Wednesday is a pointer to how low the Congress has sunk.

    By these developments, the Nigerian people must have lost a natural ally in the struggle to raise standards. The NLC has lost the moral right to query the state of things. Veteran labour leaders such as the first National President of the Congress, Comrade Hassan Sunmonu, and the Edo State governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole should step in to stem the rot and restore the confidence of Nigerians in the organisation.

    As a first step, the subscribers and general public must be fully briefed on what went wrong and who played what roles. Thereafter, if the Congress is unable to make good its promise within a short period, a full refund of deposits, plus interests should be made to the subscribers. This is clearly one scam too many.

  • How NLC election’s fiasco was planned, by union leader

    Presidentof the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN), Dr. Ayuba Wabba, has said that plans to frustrate the workers from electing a new leadership was hatched long before the beginning of the delegates’ conference.

    Ayuba, who was one of the presidential candidates in the election, said the plan was put in place early in the year by a group of union leaders who wanted the presidency of the congress ceded to unions in the private sector through undemocratic means.

    Addressing a news conference on the development, Dr. Wabba criticised the system adopted in the printing of the ballot papers.

    The system adopted, he said, was different from what had been used in the past in which names of all candidates for an office were printed on one sheet.

    He denied claims that he was being sponsored by the government for the election, saying: “Those saying that does not know me. If they know me, they will not be saying such things. We know who the real government candidates are.”

    Dr. Wabba also accused members of the credentials committee, who his opponents alleged were planning to rig the election in his favour, as part of those behind the ploy to disrupt the election.

    Opponents of the MHWUN president had accused members of the committee of trying to favour him by printing his name two or more times on the ballot paper booklet.

    “Let me call the attention of the public to the fact that the first attempt to cause confusion began on the second day of the conference when some delegates of NUPENG disrupted the proceedings of the conference by throwing chairs and smashing the head of one of the delegates of the Civil Service Union.

    “All other delegates decided to keep their calm as they have never been part of violence and will want to protect the integrity of NLC,” he stressed.

  • How NLC failed Nigerian workers

    How NLC failed Nigerian workers

    Tony Akowe, who monitored the three-day delegate conference of the Nigeria Labour Congress in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, to elect new set of labour leaders, writes on the intrigues that characterised the process

    FOR three days, the conference hall of the International Conference Centre in Abuja was a beehive of activities as Nigerian workers attempt to teach the rest of the country how to practice real democracy. It was the delegate conference of the Nigeria Labour Congress which Edo State governor and a former National President of the Congress, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, described as the bastion of democracy.

    Horse trading and back stabbing were some of the intrigues that characterised the three days of the conference as the different unions fielding candidates in the election lobbied others for support for their candidates.

    Signs that there might be trouble at the conference started showing immediately the list of contestants was published by the Nasir Fagge-led credentials committee. Some private sector unions took a paid advertorial, alleging that an agreement entered into to cede the presidency to them was being jettisoned.

    Igwe Achese, President of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas, brought the issue to the floor of the conference, stressing that it was agreed that since Abdulwahid Omar, the outgoing president was from the public sector, there was the need to cede the position to the private sector. Three candidates filed papers to contest the position with backing from different unions.

    Achese dropped the bombshell, announcing his withdrawal from the presidential race and asking his supporters to cast their votes for Joseph Ajaero, the outgoing Deputy President and General Secretary of the National Union of Electricity Employees.

    His announcement drew a loud applause and jubilation from supporters of Ajaero and the private sector unions present at the conference.

    But from there on, it was clear that Ayuba Wabba, the outgoing Treasurer and President of the Medical and Health Workers Union, was having the upper hand and may eventually carry the day.

    His supporters kept their cool and it was clear where the pendulum may swing.

    Abdulwahid Omar, outgoing president of the congress, agreed with Achese that there was an agreement to cede the presidency to the private sector unions. He explained that it was not a congress decision, but a kind of a gentleman’s agreement among the unions. But the private sector unions felt betrayed by the decision to allow Ayuba Wabba contest the election. Wabba’s immediate union had the highest number of delegates to the conference with 527 out of the 3119 delegates to the conference. He also had the support of other public sector unions with equally large number of delegates.

    The Nigerian Civil Service Union, Non Academic Staff Union, and all unions in the health sector were solidly behind him. Incidentally, Wabba is the National Chairman of the Joint Health Sector Unions that led the recently suspended strike in the health sector.

    The first major attempt to scuttle the conference took place earlier in the day when attempts to adopt the financial report presented by Wabba was scoffed at.

    Discussing the report, one of the delegates requested for a report on the NLC KRISTON-Larry Housing Project 5 which has been riddled with fraud and for which subscribers are demanding a refund of their deposit.

    From there on, bottle water, sachet water and chairs were used freely until some of the presidential aspirants intervened and calmed fray nerves for the conference to continue.

    Elections did not, however, start until about 8.44pm with delegates allowing adjustment in the list of candidates for the election. Igwe Achese who had stepped down from the presidential slot was moved to the position of deputy president, making them five contestants for the three available positions. Before the conference, three candidates were cleared by the credentials committee to contest the election. It was an attempt to reopen nomination to allow Najeem Yasin, President of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, that led to Comrade Issa Aremu, General Secretary of the Textiles Workers Union, to stage a walk out from the conference, a situation that did not go down well with elders of the congress, led by former President, Hassan Somonnu.

    Apparently, Yasin was disqualified by the committee for not properly filing his form. John Odah, former general secretary of the congress who was not happy with the decision by Aremu to walk out of the conference, said the congress has been very kind to the textiles workers.

    The intrigues continued to play out until it was time for election. The delegates had agreed during the business session to allow pensioners under the auspices of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners to cast their votes first. When it took the 44 delegates from the union over 30 minutes to cast their votes, it was clear that the election was going to last all night.

    But when the 527 delegates from Medical and Health Workers Union took almost five hours to cast their vote, some of the delegates began to raise questions.

    Interestingly, before the election started, the leadership of the congress which was supposed to have been dissolved was not even though the outgoing president called for a motion to that effect.

    The chairman of the credential committee, Comrade Nasir Fagge, raised an objection, describing the move as unconstitutional as the constitution of the congress said that can only be done when a new executive has been elected.

    The Nation gathered that it was only a matter of time before trouble started. At about 8.45 am, exactly 23 hours after the commencement of the elections, a delegate from Electricity Workers Union allegedly raised an alarm, alleging fraud in the ballot papers.

    Incidentally, NUEE is the union of one of the presidential aspirant, Joseph Ajaero. The union, with its over 400 delegates, had started their round of voting at about 7.20am. Observers told The Nation that a NUEE delegate raised an alarm that he has noticed that some aspirants names appeared more than once on the voting slip, thereby giving them an edge over his candidate. The alarm he raised caused commotion inside the hall as the other aggrieved delegates headed straight for the ballot box containing used ballot parts and smashed the boxes, scattering the ballot papers all over the hall, while carting away all unused ballot papers.

    They also claimed that the name of the second presidential candidate and outgoing deputy president, Joseph Ajaero, was also missing in some of the ballot papers being used for the election. The used and unused ballot papers were scattered inside the main hall of the International Conference Centre as delegates scampered for safety for fear of a stampede and eventual riot.

    Ajaero, however, told journalists that the election was stopped due to some irregularities discovered on the ballot papers.

    He said: “The dilemma we found ourselves in this morning is that a new president should have been sworn in, now that the new president is not sworn in, we wish to appeal to the elders of the movement to do the needful; to make sure that there is no vacuum in the NLC. This is our call and message and we apologise to Nigerians who may feel insulted by this show of shame by showing understanding until the exercise is organised.”

    Wabba, however, dismissed the claim, pointing out that what happened was a deliberate attempt by enemies of congress to disrupt the conference because they discovered that they were on the losing side.

    On his part, Achese said it was regrettable that the much anticipated election had to be jettisoned due to the crisis.

    Though Omar came into office on March 3, 2011, the Achese camp said that his tenure ceased after the delegates’ conference, whether it was conclusive or not. At the time of this report, it was learnt that labour leaders were making frantic efforts to resolve the dispute and were holding series of meeting with the aggrieved persons.

  • NLC fails to elect new leaders as conference ends in fiasco

    ORGANISED Labour has failed to elect a new executive to run its affairs at the 11th Delegates’ Conference.

    The three-day conference of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) yesterday ended in a fiasco. Angry delegates broke ballot boxes at the International Conference Centre venue of the event, citing alleged rigging.

    The election, which started at 8.44pm on Wednesday, was disrupted by some delegates 12 hours into voting.

    They alleged duplication of the name of a presidential aspirant, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, in some ballot papers.

    Aggrieved members also claimed that the second presidential candidate and outgoing Deputy President Joseph Ajaero’s name was missing from some ballot papers.

    After the disruption, used and unused ballot papers littered the main hall of the International Conference Centre. Delegates ran out of the hall, afraid of a fracas.

    Trouble started about 8.45am yesterday during voting by National Union of Electricity Employees’ (NUEE) delegates.

    A delegate allegedly observed that some ballot papers had two or more slips containing Comrade Wabba’s name.

    The Nation could not confirm the claim but nine ballot papers were said to have more than one slip containing Comrade Wabba’s name. While others did not carry the name of Comrade Ajaero.

    In their reaction, some delegates claimed the ballot containing Wabba’s multiple names were used by his Medical and Health Workers Union, stressing that it was part of efforts to rig in his favour.

    They wondered why it took the union’s 527 delegates about five hours to vote, if they had no plans to rig.

    “Look at what they have done and yet they will accuse the government of rigging. The President, Abdulwahid Omar, has been planning this for long,” a delegate, who pleaded for anonymity, said.

    Unused ballot papers scattered in the hall bore the name of Comrade Igwe Achese, who stepped down and asked his supporters to vote for Ajaero.

    Some Private Sector unions used an advertorial to accuse the NLC’s leadership of scuttling an agreement to cede the presidency to the sector.

    The accusation resurfaced at the conference when the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers’ (NUPENG) President, Igwe Achese, claimed that the agreement to cede the presidency to the Private Sector was of no consequence.

    Omar explained it was not a congress decision but an agreement among members.

    Security agents stepped in and ordered everybody out of the hall to prevent violence, as an angry delegate threw chairs, narrowly missing a former NLC President Comrade Hassan Summonu.

    Achese, who stepped down to contest one of the three deputy president seats, said they would wait to see workers’ reaction.

    He said: “We have waited to get to where we are, believing that we’ll have a peaceful and successful election. Unfortunately, we never knew that the election is being rigged.

    “We have a situation where a ballot paper contains three sheets of one person’s name. Anyway, we’ll await the decision of Nigerian workers. At the appropriate time, we will address them to take their fate in their hands.”

    NUPENG promised to address a news conference on the stalemate.

    Efforts to speak with NLC leadership and officials of the Credentials’ Committee failed.

    Comrade Wabba also was unavailable.