Rotation: TUC affiliates kick against Osifo’s presidency
By Joy Obakeye
Concerned Affiliates of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, (TUC) have kicked against the election and eventual emergence of Comrade Festus Osifo as the new President General of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC).
The affiliates maintained that the election cannot stand as it contradicts all forms, rules and laws guiding the Delegates Congress.
Addressing newsmen in Lagos recently, Chairman of the Affiliates Union, Emmanuel Jaja said the delegate’s congress of 19th July 2022 should be disregarded for failing to honor a TUC resolution at its 11th Triennial National Conference.
He maintained that the Delegates Conference held in 2019, unanimously agreed that the Food, Beverage and Tobacco Senior Staff Association (FOBTOB) union should produce the National President of the Congress from 2019 to 2022, after which Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and other Financial Institutions (ASSIBIFI) will produce the next President of the Congress from 2022 to 2025 and thereafter the position of the Presidency shall be left open to any affiliate that wishes to contest the position of Presidency.
He called on members of the public, the Federal and State Governments, and all employers of Labour not to recognise the election of Comrade Osifo, who is the President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).
“This decision was reached by various organs of the Centre, that is, from National Administrative Council (NAC), the Central Working Committee, (CWC) the National Executive council (NEC) and the National Delegates Conference. (NDC)”, he stressed.
“The implementation of the resolutions commenced with FOBTOB which produced the President of the Congress as agreed in 2019 and by 2022 June he served out his tenure”.
He said as per the resolution of the 2019 Delegates Conference, it is ASSIBIFI’s turn to produce the next President.
“The crux of our Court action was the inclusion of the position of the Presidency among the contestable positions. On noticing what we considered initially a mistake turned out to be a deliberate and wilful intention to distort the congress unanimous agreement reached at the 2019 Delegates Conference.
According to Jaja, “it is regrettable and disheartening that a Labour Centre like (TUC) could deliberately desecrate the temple of justice by flagrantly disobeying its orders”, recalling that the National Industrial Court on Wednesday 6th July 2022 restrained TUC and its agents in the presence of TUC Lawyers and that of the PENGASAN from conducting the Delegates Conference of the Congress pending the determination of the substantive issues.
The Court also magnanimously granted an accelerated hearing to the matter.
Affiliates jointly wrote to the leadership of the Congress drawing their attention to the mistake and requesting its correction, but until the time of this press briefing, no response was received from the President of the Congress.
“We are yet to understand the desperation by TUC leadership and PENGASAN in this regard to warrant a responsible centre like ours to dam the consequences of disobeying Court orders to hold the so-called election even earlier than scheduled.”
According to him, There were no CWC and NEC meetings before the so-called election, they just went straight to conduct what they called an election and allocated 18 votes to ASSIBIFI. “
In the light of the above, we, therefore, call on the Federal and State Governments and all Employers of Labour in Nigeria not to recognise or have anything to do with the so-claimed leadership of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria pending the determination of the substantive issues in Court.
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Recall that in July, Mr Festus Osifo was elected as the new President General of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC.
Osifo was elected at the 12th Triennial National Delegates’ Conference of the Congress on Wednesday in Abuja.
Reacting to this, the General Secretary of TUC, Comrade Nuhu Toro, explained that “They went to court in Lagos and the process is ongoing. The election was done in the last TUC delegate Conference by the Court Order from Abuja NIC, that said we should follow our constitution.”
“A quorum was formed at the NDC and the process was seamless. A minority cannot lord their will over the majority. They went to court in Lagos because they have faith in the process. They should kindly exercise patience and wait for the final verdict, Toro said.
