Labour Party pledges to aid NLC on election

NUPENG exonerates self from botched exercise 

FOLLOWING the inconclusive election last week, the Labour Party (LP) Monday expressed readiness to assist the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) elect new set of officers.

   Meanwhile, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) yesterday denied having a hand in the manipulation of ballot papers to scuttle last week’s election of the NLC.

   NUPENG, in Lagos on Tuesday, said though her members had representation in the NLC Credential Committee that organised the election, but they were not responsible for printing of the controversial election papers as alleged.

   A statement issued by the National Publicity Secretary of Labour Party, Ebere Ifendu noted that as one of its critical stakeholders, it is ready to offer NLC assistance where necessary to ensure that the delegates conference is properly organised without rancour.

   The party expressed dismay over the inability and failure of Umar Abdulwaheed and Peter Eseozor to conduct a peaceful delegates conference.

   It said the crisis that trailed the central labour movement election is bad omen, especially as the incident came at a time the country is about to go for national elections. 

   “We are more worried particularly when this election is precursor to the general e lections. The NLC should be an exemplary organisation that would champion good leadership and defend democratic process,” she said.

   The delegates’ conference was organised by the NLC to elect new officers to replace the executive led by outgoing president, Abdulwaheed Omar. But it ended in crisis mid-way during voting with some aggrieved delegates smashing ballot boxes and tearing the ballot papers.

   One of the reasons given by the aggrieved delegates was that the election was conducted to favour one of the contestants.

   As a result, the conference which took place at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, last Monday was suspended.

   “We urge NLC to put its house in order, while we offer our structure and services to assist them conduct a free, fair and credible election,” Ifendu said.

   It would be recalled that NLC election at the 11 Delegates Conference last week ended in fiasco, as delegates cited manipulation of ballot papers to favour a candidate. 

   One of the candidates for the office of the NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, at the weekend alleged that members of the Credential Committee, particularly representatives of NUPENG and the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) were behind the manipulation of the ballot papers that resulted in the duplication of papers for some contestants in the ballot papers booklet.

   General Secretary of NUPENG, Isaac Aberare, however, told reporters that the allegations were false and baseless in the light of the role NUPENG members played in the election.

   Aberare explained that NUPENG representatives in the committee were not involved in the selection of the printer, award of the contract to print the ballot papers nor involved in the payment for the job.

   He noted that the Credential Committee was constituted to receive complaints/petition from affiliates unions regarding allocation of delegates to the congress. Besides addressing all complaints, the committee also agreed on the design of the ballot papers,

   “Nevertheless, the selection of the printer, award of the contract and payment for the job were handled by the Secretariat of Congress, while the printing and collation of the ballot papers and sampling them in a booklet form were handled by the printer and his staff. The members of the Credential Committee were not involved in any way,” he said.

   Aberare further exonerated the committee, citing that they were exempted from the officiating team because there were delegates in the election.

   He said the allegation of having a hand in ballot manipulation was therefore most uncharitable and a figment of Ayuba’s imagination.

   In his words: “It is a wicked blackmail to score cheap political point to distract attention from his desperation to become President of the NLC at all cost. We hereby reject and vehemently deny the allegation in its entirety.”

   Continuing, he said: “The only person who could be accused of desperation in the run up to the election is Comrade Ayuba Wabba. He is the only one whose tenure of office has expired for the past two and half years. He is the one who has manipulated his union’s constitution to elongate his stay in office to enable him contest for the President of Congress before conveying his union delegates conference.”