The Akwa Ibom Nigeria Labour Congress has cleared the air that NLC could only invite candidates not aspirants of political parties to address and announce their programmes for workers in the state.
This came as the Vice Chairperson and Acting Secretary of NLC, Comrade Iboro Ibara kicked against information by Comrade Sunny James after State Administrative Council (SAC) Meeting on Tuesday, March 29 about Mr. Umo Eno’s planned consultation today, Wednesday, March 30, 2022 at 6 p.m.
Speaking with Straightnews publisher on Friday, April 1, Comrade James, State NLC Chairperson, said there was no cause for alarm since the union has neither accepted nor welcomed any governorship aspirant for consultation.
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Comrade Ibara who had in a letter entitled: ON THE PLANNED CONSULTATION OF THE LEADERSHIP OF THE NLC BY PASTOR UMO ENO and dated March 30 to the state NLC Chairperson, expressed his reservations about the planned consultation.
Ibara accused Mr. Eno who served as the immediate Past Commissioner in charge of Lands as the Commissioner whose watch the land earlier donated to the Labour movement by the Government of Chief Godswil Akpabio was grabbed and auctioned to private businessmen from Lagos.
He said it is an insult to the sensibilities of the Labour force that when Mr. Eno could not respond to their protestations over the land grab, he would so easily cajole the labour force in the State to appear for consultation at a flick of the finger.
He wondered why the only administration since that of Group Captain John Ebiye that has not thought of a low-cost mass housing project for workers will gather the courage to consult workers.
Ibara stated “My concern Sir, is whether the leadership of the NLC should subject the movement to the grave danger of political exposure which accompanies such “consultation” especially as the visitor, at least in the instances we have witnessed so far, would “land” with some amount of money as part of the consultation.
“Won’t it amount to a ridiculous tokenization of our struggles if we were to be found to have received such a Greek gift? Would such donation be a “thank you for a job well done” for our not demanding an account of stewardship from the former Honourable Commissioner or even our seized land?”
The NLC Vice Chairperson who noted that Umo Eno is part of administration that has not kept faith with the workers of Akwa Ibom State pointed out workers grievances to include increased tax on workers, non-payment of pension arrears of retired primary school teachers, gratuities, dead benefits, poor implementation of the signed agreement on 13-point demand by the NLC in 2020 and refusal to inaugurate labour nominee for the State’s Fiscal Responsibility Council, as provided for by the Fiscal Responsibility Law (2020).
“If the Fiscal Responsibility Council was in existence it is likely that the Labour representative therein would have made a case for the inclusion of social welfare payments as part of the expenditure outlined in the N45 billion supplemental budget which was recently passed by the State’s Legislature or in the contentious N150billion loan instrument about to be procured by the Government.
“My dear Chairman, my front-loading of this memo with a litany of these grotesque deviations from the social contract by Government is to give validity to the assertion that the Government has not kept faith with the workers, nay, masses of Akwa Ibom. And this is against the background of the fact that this Government, in the preceding six fiscal years has accumulated and spent more money than its predecessor within the same period,” the letter reads in parts.
Ibara insisted that NLC leadership will portray themselves as saboteurs of the collective interests of workers if after they “refused” to join the protest by retired teachers, they would be found in a nocturnal political jamboree with agents of the same Government.
The NLC Vice Chairperson advised that the least NLC leadership can do is to invite all the workers so that the visiting former Commissioner may give them a report of stewardship for himself and for the Government.
Reacting to the letter, James said “The claims that Umo Eno is consulting NLC State Administrative Council is not correct. We have made ourselves clear that whosoever wants to consult the labour should do that when he is a candidate of a party and not an aspirant. And when we want to welcome such a person, we will carry all workers along.”
”We will meet candidates, find out their electoral promises for the workers. Pastor Umo Eno had called me that he wanted to visit. Onofiok Luke and other aspirants called me and I said ‘yes’ you can consult us, but not as aspirant but as a primary holder of a political party.’’
On the controversies surrounding the land given to labour, Comrade James insisted that the labour force does not have issues with Mr. Umo Eno since the land was taken under the watch of his predecessor and not him.
He added “The land was given by the Akpabio’s administration and taken by Governor Udom Emmanuel’s administration. Emmanuel said he handed over the land to a consultant but we insisted that we should be carried along. At least, we should know what the consultant is doing and not to keep us in the dark. We as Labour will face the Governor on that issue. It is our land and we will take it.”
