By Victor Ahiuma-Young

Both factions of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, led by Ayuba Wabba, and Joe Ajaero, have fixed state councils’ elections for Thursday April 23, 2015.

In other words, the 36 states of the federation and Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, shall have two state executives each from April 23, unless something dramatic happens, or better still, if respectable labour veterans including Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, and progressive members of the civil society intervene before then.

Civil society intervention

Today, both leaders of Wabba and Ajaero-led factions may be going about pretending not to acknowledge and appreciate the gravity of the crisis that Congress has been enmeshed in. Nonetheless, it is the opinion of Labour Vanguard that in the enlightened self-interest of labour veterans, current labour leaders and members of the well-meaning civil society allies that the state councils’ elections are not held as scheduled until the crisis rocking Congress is amicably resolved.

While both factions of NLC may be busy trying to outsmart each other at the centre, taking the crisis to the state level and FCT, will obviously compound the already bad situation Congress has found itself following the disputed and allegedly manipulated March 12 rescheduled election.

Why the hurry to hold state councils elections

Though the factions maybe wanting to hold state councils’ election barely a month after to consolidate their hold on power, but in the long run, it may turn out to be a hurried election that would have definitely not moved Congress forward. The planned election is like pouring fuel on an already raging fire. To every sane mind, state councils’ elections at this time will only deepen the crisis at the centre.

The truth is that, the planned April 23 state councils elections is driven by the greed to consolidate their holds on power by the factions, rather than in the interest of the workers and the down trodden citizens.

In the past eight years, the state councils of Congress have not been funded and money centrally paid as dues to NLC secretariat, the state councils have not been paid their rebates which forced most of them to become appendages of the state governments.

Unfortunately, the Financial Committee during the last dispensation whose primary duty was to see to the funding of the state councils made it a point of policy not to pay rebates to the state councils. In fact, the committee deliberately refused to work out a rebate system to pay state councils their dues. This situation has not only made state councils to be at loggerheads with the NLC leadership till today, but led the councils to become destitute, begging the state governments for monetary favours to run the councils. The result is that the action has paralysed the state councils so much that they cannot pay their bills without the generosity of some benevolent state governors.

As at today, only one of the factions has what could be regarded as an articulated position on how the state councils should be founded. If the April 23 state councils’ elections go on as planned, the financial crisis rocking the states will worsen as the state governments will have a ready excuse not to assist.

In truth, no state government with integrity will want to be seen fraternising with a faction of NLC. It will obviously not be in its interest because it may back fire heavily and the state could be a testing ground for factions to test their popularity.

No affiliates, no NLC

Let no one deceive him/herself that there is NLC without the affiliates. Without the industrial union affiliates, the NLC is just an amorphous body and when water eventually finds it level, it is the industrial union affiliates that will determine where the pendulum swings to.   As things stand today, the 43 affiliates of NLC are almost evenly divided by the factions numerically and not on the basis of strength with the exception of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT and Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, MWUN. While leaders of MWUN have made it clear that the union would remain neutral and not support either of the factions until the crisis is amicably resolved, NUT is yet to state its position. The implication is that if they are interested, its national leaders have successfully deprived the state leaders the opportunity to participate in the state councils’ elections should both factions go ahead with the elections as planned.

However, on the basis of strength and ability to bring governments and employers to their knees, one of the factions dwarfs the other. If the crisis is not resolved soon, as time goes on, this will play a major role in determining the shape of popularity and acceptance by workers and Nigerian masses alike.

Imminent area of contests

Whether leaders of the factions like it or not, the time to test their might and popularity will come sooner than later. Some of the imminent areas of contestations will be when Congress is to send representatives to Federal Government agencies or parastatals that statutorily require Congress’ representatives on their boards. Agencies such as the National Pension Commission, PenCom, Nigeria Social Insurance TrustFund, NSITF, Industrial Arbitrational Panel, IAP, and Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, among others, are such agencies of government.   Though not a government agency, Congress is part of the owners of Trustfund Pension and such, has representatives in the Board of Directors.

It will be interesting to know which of the factions that will be sending representatives to these agencies when the time arises. If not now, when the incoming government of General Muhammadu Buhari assumes office on May 29, most of these boards, if not all, would be dissolved and new ones constituted. When that happens, which of the factions will send representatives, or will both factions send representatives and expect such representatives to be accepted or rejected. Time shall tell.