By Victor Ahiuma-Young

AS the National Delegates Conference, NDC, where new leaders of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, would emerge, begins today in Abuja, indications have emerged of plots to alter or dump the list of cleared candidates by the Credentials Committee, CC, to pave way for some annointed candidates.

Findings revealed that one the targets is a candidate who was earlier schemed out, but by divine providence, today he is a deputy president in waiting. According to Vanguard investigations, the plotters and their agents would raise the matter on the floor of the conference, preferably tomorrow, the second day of the conference.

A senior secretariat staff told Vanguard that “the pressures to reopen the nomination list are overwhelming. I can bet you, it will not happen. We are going to resist every attempt to reopen, alter or even dump the nomination list. It is unheard of in the history of NLC. Those mounting the pressures certainly have other agenda. We are waiting for them. I am convinced that most delegates will not allow it.”

Cleared candidates

Recall that Vanguard had on January 19, 2015, reported that since the list of cleared candidates was released by the credentials committee on Tuesday January 6, 2015, NLC had been under intense pressure to abandon or alter the list.

It was gathered that same day after the committee released the list of contestants duly cleared for the conference as mandated by the NLC’s Constitution, the National Union of Road Transport Workers in a letter to the General Secretary of NLC protested the perceived exclusion of its President who submitted Nomination Form to contest for the post of Deputy President due to the fact that the Nomination form was not appropriately filed as stated in the Memo of December 12, 2014.

The publication of the list of duly certified contestants by the Credentials Committee was part of the Secretariat Report to the National Executive Council, NEC, meeting of NLC held, January 20, 2015 at Labour House Abuja.

Vanguard learned that the letter from the NURTW was raised at the National Executive Council, NEC, meeting and the National Administrative Council, NAC, meeting and both meetings rejected the protest. Investigation revealed that plans have been perfected to raise the complaint of NURTW as a constitutional issue at the conference during the Congress-in-Session at which time the election into various positions would be conducted.

However it is being argued that raising such complaint during the election is unconstitutional as the work of the Conference Credentials Committee is covered by Article 29 of the NLC Constitution. Also, raising the issue of re-opening nominations for elective offices during the election besides being unconstitutional could lead to chaos of unimaginable proportions and capable of undermining the Delegates Conference.

According to a labour veteran, “the planned hearing of any appeals at the Congress-in-Session for purposes of re-opening nominations for elective offices at the 11th Delegates Conference when nominations have been duly closed is ultra vires and, therefore, null and void.

The List of Contestants duly cleared for NLC Delegates Conference Elections released by the Conference Credentials Committee is the appropriate and only list of contestants for elective offices for NLC Delegates Conference Elections at the 11th Delegates Conference of NLC. If NLC Secretariat is allowed to raise the complaint at the Congress-in-Session during the election, such would amount to an affront to Article 29 of the NLC Constitution.”