by Nurat Uthman
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called on the Federal Government not to take steps to interfere in the tenure of union leaders in the country.
Mr Benson Upah, NLC Head of Information, made the call while addressing newsmen on Thursday in Abuja.
Upah alleged that the government wanted to impose a two-year tenure on labour leaders.
He said such action would amount to meddling in the internal running of trade unions and a gross violation of the corpus of Labour Law and International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions.
“The federal government should put an end to the ongoing alleged hybrid war against Congress.
“However, if government feels that two years is the best tenure to go, it should be two years for everyone, including the Office of the President and principal public officers as well,”‘ he said.
He also appealed to the government to stop meddling in the affairs of Labour Party and, as well, end destabilisation campaign against opposition parties.
Upah said the police must tender unreserved apology to the NLC for the invasion of its headquarters. or risk an industrial action or other options open to Congress to express its dissatisfaction.
He added that the explanations by the police for the invasion have consistently failed to add up, including the purported legal documents from a court of jurisdiction permitting the raid.
“Beside the government’s silence on our patriotic and well-thought-out demands, the police have since come out to make further comments on the raid instead of an apology.
“A statement signed by ACP Olumumuyiwa Adejobi claimed that the raid had no connection with the NLC secretariat, workers, or leadership, but a prime criminal suspect in an ongoing investigation traced to a shop within the building which they claimed was on the 2nd floor.
“We find the claims contradictory, self-serving, and face-saving, and intended to cover up their blunders.
“What were the security personnel doing on the 10th floor when the shop they were after was on the 2nd floor?
“If the police truly had credible intelligence and if Congress was not their target, what was wrong with taking the leadership of Congress into confidence?
“If they felt that would jeopardise the operation, couldn’t they have confided in the leadership,” he said.
He, therefore, called on the federal government and the police not to rope Congress into something it knew nothing about.
Also on the protest, Upah urged the federal government to desist from playing on the intelligence of Nigerians by attempting to divert their attention from the real issues of bad governance and hunger, which still stare the people in the face.
He reiterated that it was economic policies of the government that have continued to unleash hardship on the people.
Upah said the Congress called on the government to release those in its custody in relation to the protest, including a member of the Nigeria Union Electricity Employee’s (NUEE) executive, Mr Opalua Eleojo, who was arrested at a social spot in Abuja.
“We are entitled to safety and protection. The arrest is not good PR for this country. People are laughing at us,” he said
