The crisis that rocked the national conference of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) on Thursday last week, took a different dimension at the weekend, after the leadership of the Congress resolved to appoint a sole administrator to pilot the affairs of the workers body pending when fresh election would be conducted.
The general election will now hold in June this year.
A competent source told our Correspondent in Abuja that the crisis has torn the congress apart. “In fact NLC is divided as I am talking to you. It would be difficult to be able to pacify the warring parties to come together again for another election very soon. So, we have settled for a sole administrator to run the affairs of the workers body pending when a substantive president would be elected.”
The last week Thursday election of the Congress ended in a fiasco with presidential candidates engaging in a free for all.
One of the candidates had alleged manipulation of the electoral process in favour of Ayuba Webba; a candidate allegedly favoured by the incumbent President Andulwaheed Omar and said to be sponsored by the major opposition party in the country.
The source told our Correspondent that sole administrator decision came as the last minute option, after every effort to hold back delegates to conduct another election hit the brick wall. “Some of the king makers of NLC called the decision as one rooted in the doctrine of “necessity”. The constitution of the congress also allows it, so we shall be acting within the ambit of the constitution.”
The king makers it was gathered, have already tipped the secretary general of textile workers union, Issa Aremu and the former president of Confederation of Organization of African Trade Union Unity (OATUU) Ahmed Sumonu, as possible persons to take over as sole administrator from the out-going NLC president Abdulwaheed Omar.
If this arrangement goes through it would be the second time in the history of the workers body that a sole administrator would take charge of the NLC.
The first, was in 1984, when the General Ibrahim Babangida, military government disbanded the national executive council of NLC and appointed Comrade, Pascal Bafyau, as sole administrator to run the affairs of the congress and later conduct election.
A source also added that the choice of Aremu and Sunmonu as sole administrator did not go down well with 18 out of the 29 industrial unions in the country that make up the Congress. “Even if we would settle for a sole administrator, definitely Isah Aremu and Sumonu are out of it. They are part of our problem and we cannot ask our enemies to come and assist us,” a president of one of the industrial unions stated.
Effort to speak with the embattled NLC president, Abdulwaheed Omar, was not fruitful, as his telephone lines were switched off. But a source within the NLC headquarters in Abuja, confirmed the development to our Correspondent.
Also, an Assistant Secretary, information, Dengar Yakoub, in a telephone chat said, he was not aware of anything of that nature. “I am not in Abuja now, and as such would not be aware of what you are trying to find out. However, if that is their thinking, it may not be out of place. But, don’t forget, there are decision-making structures within NLC itself, which must be followed. It would not be an Omar’s decision alone.”
It would be recalled that this Newspaper, reported exclusively that an attempt by the main opposition party, the All Progressive Congress (APC) to firm up its grip at one of the major power blocs in Nigeria, witnessed baptism of confusion and later ended in misadventure on Thursday, after the 11th National Delegates Conference of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) ended in a fiasco.
Our source said crisis began at the International Conference Center Abuja, venue of the delegate conference almost 12 hours after voting commenced and some delegates noticed an unusual voting pattern. “Some aggrieved delegates threw decorum to the winds, hijacking and smashing ballot boxes that were to be used for the election of new executives for the umbrella labour body,” said the source.
