Labour threatens strike if Iwu is reappointed

NIGERIA Labour Congress, NLC, President Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar (middle) with other Labour and Civil Society leaders at the Maurice Iwu Must Go rally in Abuja, Wednesday.

By Oscarline Onwuemenyi

ABUJA—THE Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and its civil society allies have vowed to embark on an industrial action if the Federal Government reappointed Prof, Maurice Iwu, as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

The NLC, Trade Union Congress, TUC, and Civil Society Coalition, LASCO, said, yesterday, they will be left with no choice than to call out Nigerians workers on national strike for as long as it takes the Federal Government to replace the electoral commission’s chief in June, this year after the expiration of his first term in office.

Addressing a mammoth crowd at the INEC headquarters in Maitama district, Abuja, the NLC President, Abdulwahed Omar, said: “Prof. Iwu must go and this is the best place to say this. Nigerian workers have sent us and the message is clear enough, Iwu must not remain the INEC chairman after June. If Nigerian people will count, the government will listen to us and remove Iwu. But if Nigerian people do not count, the government can go ahead to reappoint Iwu.

“Every worker in Nigeria will stop work the day the government reappoints Iwu, until he is removed. Every worker, including you here (at INEC office) will not work until he is removed. Nigerian people and the workers will only be ready for elections if and when the electoral reform is properly done.”