NLC Crisis Deepens As 23 Aggrieved Unions Plan To Hold Fresh Elections.

SORTING OF VOTES DURING THE NLC SPECIAL DELEGATES CONFERENCE AT THE EAGLE SQUARE, ABUJA



More facts have emerged as to why 23 aggrieved unions rejected the outcome of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC election on Saturday, which produced a former national President of Medical and Health Workers Union, Ayuba Wabba, as new helmsman of the NLC, insisting they are planning for a special delegates conference this Saturday to reflect the true wishes of the Nigerian workers.



In a joint statement by Joe Ajaero, who lost the contest to Wabba, Achese Igwe and Issa Aremu, who both contested for Deputy President of NLC, on behalf of the 23 aggrieved unions, they dissociated themselves from the March 12 election, arguing that like the botched election of February, the election was also fundamentally flawed both in the process and outcome.



The statement signed by Ajaero, who is also the General Secretary of the National Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE, Igwe, the President of Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG and Aremu, the General Secretary of National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, NUTGTWN, said “like the previous failed election, there was an unacceptable disregard for rules and regulations in the latest election.



“Rules were changed midway into the elections. The credential committee wrongly validated the Ballot papers found in boxes not meant for the position being contested for contrary to the rules.



These ballot papers ought to have been invalidated. There was a scandalous deficit of basic electoral materials such as tallies. As a result, counting of votes was stopped for 3 hours to allegedly enable the General Secretary of NLC and his team to go to the market to buy some electoral materials. In the process there was a crisis of confidence and legitimate suspicion of manipulation.



“It took two working days for an election fixed for only one day to count the votes of 3,119 delegates from the 43 industrial unions affiliated to the Congress. Due to poor electoral arrangement, sorting of ballot papers turned to be cumbersome and opened to manipulations and distortions with non-members of the Credential Committee dictating the patterns of counting.