NLC delegate conference ends in crisis

NLC delegate conference ends in crisis

The National Delegates Conference of the Nigeria Labour Conference ended in
crisis as delegates failed to elect a new leader for the foremost labour centre.
Delegates, who converged on the International Conference Centre, Abuja, to elect
a new President to succeed the outgoing President of the congress, Mr.
Abdulwahed Omar, engaged one another in fisticuffs and used the chairs at the
venue as weapons to combat each other.
Trouble started deep into the election on Wednesday night when some
discrepancies were observed in ballot papers that were used for the then
seemingly peaceful elections.
Some of the delegates felt that the ballot papers were deliberately printed to
facilitate the rigging of the election in favour of one of the candidates.
The candidates for the prestigious position of President of the NLC are the
National President, Medical and Health Workers Union, Mr. Ayuba Wabba, who is
also the National Treasurer of the NLC; the General Secretary of the National
Union of Electricity Employees, Mr. Joe Ajaero, who is also a Deputy President of
the NLC; and the President, Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas
Workers, Mr. Achese Igwe.
According to the aggrieved unionists, some of the ballot papers had the name of
Mr. Ayuba Wabba, in three places; others had the name of Mr. Joe Ajaero in two
places; others had no name of Ajaero at all while some with the name of Ajaero
had no serial number.
The delegates from the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers
were said to have called attention to the discrepancies in the ballot papers.
The ensuing argument between the delegates loyal to Wabba an Ajaero, threw the
venue of the election into pandemonium as the unionists shouted at each other
until they started throwing chairs.
Delegates, who claimed to be fighting for fairness in the conduct of the election,
scattered the ballot boxes and became uncontrollable.
Wabba seemed to have brighter chances of being elected as the next President
of the congress until Tuesday evening when the NUPENG President, Igwe, stepped
down for Ajaero and declared support for him which made the election more
competitive.
Delegates loyal to Ajaero are of the view that the organisers of the election might
have allowed deliberate errors in the ballot papers to pave the way for the
election of Wabba in the ballot papers.
The inability to elect a replacement for Omar as President of the NLC has
plunged the congress into a constitutional crisis as the tenure of the former
President has lapsed without an elected successor.
The leadership of the congress has called a meeting of the National
Administrative Council meeting to decide on how to solve the impasse.
Our correspondent, who was at the Labour House Headquarters of the NLC at the
Central area, Abuja, observed that the meeting was ongoing as of the time of
filing this report.
With the outcome of the2015 Delegate Conference, the NLC is heading for a
major division involving its major affiliate unions contributing huge sums of money
into its purse.