Coalition Accuses NLC Of Mandate Violation

By Abdullahi Yusuf

A group, The Campaign for the Protection of Workers’ Rights in Nigeria,has accused the Nigeria Labour Congress(NLC) of derailing from its mandate of advancing the cause of the Nigerian worker.

In a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Abubakar Ado,and issued to journalists in Kano on Monday,the group alleged that the NLC had “now  become a willing tool in the hands of individual politicians.”

It described the development as a very sad reversal of the union’s veritable role of protecting the Nigerian worker.

“This coalition noted with regret that the NLC which was created for the sole purpose of advancing the cause of the Nigerian workers has now become a willing tool in the hands of individual politicians whose whims and caprices it now panders to,a very sad reversal of its veritable role of protecting the Nigerian workers,” it said.

The coalition also accused the NLC of failure to make a coherent statement on the myriad of problems facing the nation such as the prevailing insecurity in Plateau,Benue and Niger States.

“The only thing that interests the NLC most, is the recall of Senator Natasha Akpoti Uduaghan who was legally suspended by the Senate for breaching its standing order rules.

“How many times have the labour unions matched in solidarity with our citizens who are being killed on a daily basis by hydra headed and monstrous bandits and terrorists across the country,” the group queried.

According to the coalition,the Senate and the Judiciary are two very vital components of democracy,and that any attempt by any persons or group to undermine their independence amounts to an affront on democracy and the rule of law.

It, therefore, called on the NLC and its president, Comrade Joe Ajaero,to “toe the path of sanity and decorum and stop making mockery of its well-defined mandate.”