Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu
By Emeka Okafor
Abia
The Abia State Factional Chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Uche Christopher Ezekiel has pleaded with Governor Okezie Ikpeazu to urgently wade into the lingering leadership crisis that has remained unresolved in order not to allow the State plunge into an unwarranted industrial action..
Speaking to The Independent in Aba while reacting to perceived uneasy calm within the Labour Movement in the State, Comrade Ezekiel said though efforts towards resolving the leadership at the national level of the Nigeria Labour Congress, that of Abia State was an unusual one resulting from the illegality that characterized the emergence of the present leadership of the NLC in the State.
According to him, the relationship between the imposed NLC Chairman in the State and other labour leaders manifested during the last picketing exercise of The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) carried out by the NLC nationwide.
“The exercise was welcomed, but it did not go well because of certain issues that affected the labour in the State; all the industrial unions did not come out as its our custom to participate in the picketing simply because the man who took over the mantle of leadership, Comrade Uche Obigwe was not welcomed and not duly approved for his election to be the Chairman of NLC in the State, therefore all members of organized labour were absent from the exercise”.
On the polarization of labour in the State which started in May 1 2015, he appealed to Governor Ikpeazu, “We want the government to come into the issues affecting the working class and the organized labour in the state and that would be able to bring harmony into his administration because before he came into office there was no unity among the labour leaders because of the very person that was imposed from Abuja not minding court orders.
I strongly believe in the rule of law and since that rule of law was not respected during his election everybody has abandoned him.
My appeal is that we are partners in progress with the government, any day any time even globally, the trade unions are partners in progress with the government, so we will advise that those factors that has led to disharmony among the labour leaders and the government should look into the labour crises in the state. The NLC is happy over his Supreme Court victory. We are calling on him to intervene into this issue especially, the crises rocking the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria”.
Adding his voice on the relationship among labour leaders in the State and perceived polarization in the organized labour of the state, the State Chairman of the Joint Public Negotiating Council, Comrade Chris Okoro said: ” if say good, I don’t think I am saying the right thing, if I say bad, I don’t think I am saying the right thing, we have our difficulties, we are trying to contend with them”.
He attributed the outcome from the impasse that has enveloped the organized labour in the state going back to May 1 2015, “Yes it has to do with it. There were factional leaderships at Lagos and Abuja, but today, I heard they have reconciled, we are calling on them to do the same in the state.
Factionalization is natural and when such happens, you expect followers to follow these factions, when there is face off you address the matter properly and not to pick sides”.
He disclosed that as |Chairman of the Negotiation Council, efforts has been made to reconcile both factions, we have three arms of the organized labour, the joint Negotiating Council, The NLC and The TUC, I have not been given the privilege to settle this impasse otherwise we would have come into the matter”.
Abia
The Abia State Factional Chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Uche Christopher Ezekiel has pleaded with Governor Okezie Ikpeazu to urgently wade into the lingering leadership crisis that has remained unresolved in order not to allow the State plunge into an unwarranted industrial action..
Speaking to The Independent in Aba while reacting to perceived uneasy calm within the Labour Movement in the State, Comrade Ezekiel said though efforts towards resolving the leadership at the national level of the Nigeria Labour Congress, that of Abia State was an unusual one resulting from the illegality that characterized the emergence of the present leadership of the NLC in the State.
According to him, the relationship between the imposed NLC Chairman in the State and other labour leaders manifested during the last picketing exercise of The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) carried out by the NLC nationwide.
“The exercise was welcomed, but it did not go well because of certain issues that affected the labour in the State; all the industrial unions did not come out as its our custom to participate in the picketing simply because the man who took over the mantle of leadership, Comrade Uche Obigwe was not welcomed and not duly approved for his election to be the Chairman of NLC in the State, therefore all members of organized labour were absent from the exercise”.
On the polarization of labour in the State which started in May 1 2015, he appealed to Governor Ikpeazu, “We want the government to come into the issues affecting the working class and the organized labour in the state and that would be able to bring harmony into his administration because before he came into office there was no unity among the labour leaders because of the very person that was imposed from Abuja not minding court orders.
I strongly believe in the rule of law and since that rule of law was not respected during his election everybody has abandoned him.
My appeal is that we are partners in progress with the government, any day any time even globally, the trade unions are partners in progress with the government, so we will advise that those factors that has led to disharmony among the labour leaders and the government should look into the labour crises in the state. The NLC is happy over his Supreme Court victory. We are calling on him to intervene into this issue especially, the crises rocking the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria”.
Adding his voice on the relationship among labour leaders in the State and perceived polarization in the organized labour of the state, the State Chairman of the Joint Public Negotiating Council, Comrade Chris Okoro said: ” if say good, I don’t think I am saying the right thing, if I say bad, I don’t think I am saying the right thing, we have our difficulties, we are trying to contend with them”.
He attributed the outcome from the impasse that has enveloped the organized labour in the state going back to May 1 2015, “Yes it has to do with it. There were factional leaderships at Lagos and Abuja, but today, I heard they have reconciled, we are calling on them to do the same in the state.
Factionalization is natural and when such happens, you expect followers to follow these factions, when there is face off you address the matter properly and not to pick sides”.
He disclosed that as |Chairman of the Negotiation Council, efforts has been made to reconcile both factions, we have three arms of the organized labour, the joint Negotiating Council, The NLC and The TUC, I have not been given the privilege to settle this impasse otherwise we would have come into the matter”.
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