NLC VP--Another botched NLC polls looms

                    The Vice President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and General Secretary of the National Union of Textile Garments and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN), Comrade Issa Aremu has raised an alarm that the rescheduled election of the union may be faced with another crisis if certain constitutional issues are not addressed before the rescheduled date.
                     The National Executive Council (NEC) of NLC has fixed Thursday March 12th, 2015 for the conclusion of the 11th Delegates Conference of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) dealing with election of National Officials of Congress.
                      Comrade Aremu who is also vying for the post of Deputy President which was hitherto unopposed before other contestants indicated interest after the names of cleared candidates were released, said, as a union they are committed to make sure the new date of 12th March 2015 is a reality.
He stressed however that “if we must ensure a
successful election and avoid the crisis that marred the previous election, basic rules and practices guiding elections must be strictly followed. There must be fairness and equal level playing field for all contestants.
“We call on the NLC General Secretary to make sure the new election is not marred with the mistake of the past so that we can have a free and fair election.
“We raise this point against the background of our observation from the new list of contestants circulated to all industrial unions by the General Secretary of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson.
“The list of contestants did not follow alphabetical order even when the General Secretary clearly stated in the letter dated February 26, 2015 to all the unions that accreditation of delegates will be based on alphabetical order. The contestants’ names were listed in a way that it suggests partisanship.
“It will be recalled that our union was the first, prior to the botched NLC Delegates Conference to raise the danger of possible crisis if basic rules and practices of NLC guiding elections are not followed. We were vindicated through the avoidable crisis that marred that election.‎
“We warn that all lovers of the labour movement must be interested in what is going at the NLC.
“Nigerian workers and indeed all Nigerians, labour veterans and friends of labour will not accept another so-called “printing errors” such as multiple ballot papers for a contestant.
“We really do not want to believe that the General Secretary of NLC, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson is incompetent, dishonest and partisan in such a way that he will refuse to follow the basic rules and practices guiding elections such as listing the names of contestants in alphabetical order.
“We hereby demand that the circulated list of contestants should be withdrawn and a fresh list of contestants arranged in alphabetical order be reissued to all affiliate unions by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). This should also reflect in the ballot papers.
“The NLC General Secretary should stop turning Comrades against Comrades. There should be strict application of basic rules and practices to avoid the ugly experience of the recent past.”