In a report released recently, members of the Nigerian Labour Congress have come out en masse to protest the Minister’s mistreatment of its officials. The protest came out so strong especially in the face of the fact that the Minister has just inaugurated the board of the NSITF, an action the Minister has left pending for about two years. They say that the Chairman of the Nigerian Labour Congress, Dr. Chris Ngige has mistreated some top labour officials.
The mob of labour members led by the President of the Nigerian Labour Congress Mr. Ayuba Wabba has said that they would take their grievances to the forthcoming inauguration of the International Labour Congress in Geneva Switzerland. The mob caused traffic along the roads leading to the Labour House before stopping at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment building. Representatives of other formidable bodies like ASUU, NUPENG, SSANU, and NULGE were there present. Some of them gave their dissatisfied position on the issue and passed a vote of no confidence on the incumbent Minister, saying that Mr. Ngige appears to have a hand in something that is not supposed to be found in a person of his caliber.
Although the Presidency has appointed Mr. Austin Enejamo Isire as the Chairman of the board, the Nigerian Labour Congress still sense some element of foul play in the matter. According to them, Mr. Frank Kokori who is an embodiment of truth and honesty has been invited four times for a meeting by the Minister of Labour and Employment Dr. Chris Ngige. The subject of these meetings has been about NSITF. The ensuing events after this was what raised the eyebrow of labour leaders in the country. Mr. Kokori who was former Chairman of NUPENG, Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers was removed before his inauguration and redeployed to the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS) in Ilorin.
Reports from the Presidency says that the president backed the events, but there are fears that Dr. Ngige must have masterminded these events in a bid to control the billion naira social insurance fund by proxy. According to them, this would be impossible if Mr. Kokori was inaugurated. When Labour members held a protest at the premises of the Minister last week, it resulted in a brawl between the supporters of the Minister and Labour officials.
The response of the Nigerian Labour Congress to this is an even stiffer position on the matter. They say they would not give up until all attempts like that of the Minister being put up against democracy and corruption are brought down to ruins. There are claims from the Presidency that efforts are being made to resolve the matter in a win-win situation for the NLC and the Minister, but as it stands, there is yet to be substantial evidence to support this as the NLC still maintains its stand.
