By Victor Ahiuma-Young

ON Monday, January 25, the Alhaji Hassan Sunmonu-led Reconciliatory Committee, RC, took a major step towards resolving the leadership crisis rocking the NLC by appointing a seven-man panel to address the issue of parallel executives in the 36 states and Abuja.

The parallel executives in the states are a major impediment towards the resolution of the leadership crisis following the March 2015 disputed delegates conference that has factionalized the Congress.

While Ayuba Wabba is leading a faction, Joe Ajaero leads the other.

The meeting, Labour Vanguard gathered, was sequel to the January ending ultimatum given to the chairman of the RC, Alhaji Sunmonu, by the Ajaero led faction.
In the ultimatum, the faction threatened to pull out of the reconciliation efforts if nothing concrete was achieved.

The panel, Labour Vanguard gathered, is headed by Alhaji Sunmonu with three members each from both factions including Peter Adeyemi, General Secretary of Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions, NASU, a Deputy President from Wabba’s faction and Igwe Achese, President of Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, also a Deputy President of Ajaero’s faction.

Parallel executives

These seven men are to go round the 36 states and Abuja, to examine where there are parallel executives and find a way of ensuring that only a single executive exists.
They are to report back to a joint meeting of leaders of both factions on February 28.

Speaking during its faction’s National Executive Council, NEC, meeting in Lagos, Wabba, disclosed that: “The challenges of 2015 National Delegates Conference are being addressed.

Very soon the matter will be finally resolved and NLC will be united with full force to fight, defend and promote workers’ rights. Just few days ago, there was a meeting where the only thing on the agenda was how to address these challenges. At the end, a committee was set up to address issue in the state councils.”

Roadblocks to peace: Ahead of the Monday meeting, Labour Vanguard was informed that outside the issue of parallel executives in the states, other issues yet to be resolved were the fate of labour leaders who are no longer presidents of their unions or have retired from service, but are occupying positions in Congress.
Besides, there were also concerns that the root causes of the crisis bordering on accusations of rigging, manipulations of electoral process among others, were yet to be investigated to determine the truth or otherwise of the allegations.

The Sunmonu-led RC and indeed, the NLC veterans, it has been gathered, are insisting on one leadership at the state level and it is making efforts at achieving this.
One can understand why this is a major headache.

Elections in the state councils by the factions cannot be faulted. Each faction held its election according to spelt out rules and elected leaders. So, there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the state councils elections conducted by the two factions.

Observers are of the opinion that the panel can resolve the state issue in the following ways. First, in states where there were popular and effective chairmen who had served only one term before the crisis, they should be allowed to complete their terms.

Harmonization policy

Second, in Labour elections, there is harmonization. This is paramount because most of the unions adopt harmonization policy in their elections.
In most cases, it is only when candidates fail to agree, that they go into elections against one another.

In this case, if the panel is able to harmonise, the better, but if not, it should adopt other measures especially, by allowing them to test their popularities in elections.
Individuals no longer in service: On the fate of labour leaders who are no longer presidents of their unions or have retired from service, but are occupying positions in Congress, it was gathered that a decision had already been taken on it by the veterans before the disputed March 2015 conference.

It was gathered that the veterans including Governor Adams Oshiomhole and Hassan Sunmonu, met with the contestants at Labour House and asked all the contestants whether they were still in service, all the contestants answered in the affirmative.

They were said to have equally been asked whether they were still occupying positions in their respective unions that could last for the next four years, they said yes.

Enforcement of decisions

However, it has been discovered that the veterans were deceived. So, it has been gathered that the veterans are now revisiting and enforcing decisions reached on the matter before the election.

Labour Vanguard was informed that it is not that any of the factions is pushing it forward, but that the veterans are enforcing it. Incidentally, neither of the factions, it was gathered, is opposed to it because the factions know that these issues were there even before the election.
Bottlenecks: Meanwhile, it has been gathered that those that have retired from service or are no longer presidents of their respective unions and holding positions are threatening not not vacate the positions unless the entire election that brought about the crisis is cancelled.

Their unions are said to be contending that if the basis for their representatives to vacate is the issue of tenure, then the whole election process should be voided.

A veteran Labour leader who spoke to Labour Vanguard on condition of anonymity, said they were right to hold such views because you could not hold justice on one hand and allow injustice to stand on the other hand.

According to him, “if you are to hold restitution, it has to be all round. As far as you have identified flaws in that election, the entire process is flawed. The veterans must address this amicably if they want to be successful in resolving the crisis. Incidentally, this issue is not new in NLC.

Once you retire from service, you automatically lose your postion in NEC of NLC, unless you contested on the platform of the National Union of Pensioners, NUP.

Similary, if you are no longer president of your union on which platform you were elected, you have to vacate such position.
Under the presidency of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole in NLC, some members of the National Administrative Councils, NAC, including Lucas Damlack, of the National Union of Chemical, Footwear, Leather, Rubber and Non-Metallic Products Employees, NUCFLRANMPE, who was then one of the Deputy Presidents of Congress were all asked to leave. They did because that is the norm and practice.

Contentious issues

Some other identified contentious areas included the position of the General Secretary.
It was gathered that the Ajaero-led faction had at some earlier meetings, complained that decisions reached were not implemented.

However, it was gathered that during the Monday meeting, these were discussed and pointed out that it may not be right to say they were not implemented because the factions still exist.

The groups still hold factional organs’ meetings such as National Administrative Council, NAC, Central Working Committee, CWC, and NEC meetings.
If the Ayuba faction is to fill the position of the General Secretary for example, if it goes ahead to fill it, it will be regarded as factional General Secretary. What it means is that, those things must wait until there is a united Congress before they are addressed. It is only then that the issues are taken to the organs.

If NEC now for example, approves the appointment of a General Secretary, it will now be NLC’s NEC and not factional NEC of Ajaero or Wabba’s factions.