…Egwakhide disowns Igbafen-led Caretaker Committee
By: Titus Oise, Benin.
The Chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Edo State Council, Comrade Bernard Joman Egwakhide has disowned the statement titled “Edo NLC Vows To Resist Moves By Lawmakers To Repeal, Amend 2021 Autonomy Law” purportedly issued by the Caretaker Committee Chairman, Prof. Monday Lewis Igbafen.
In terse press release yesterday, Egwakhide stated very clearly that the purported statement by the Caretaker Committee Chairman, Igbafen did not emanate from the authentic and duly recognised Edo State NLC and should therefore not be regarded as the official position of the Council.
According to Egwakhide, “The attention of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Edo State Council, has been drawn to a publication titled “Edo NLC Vows To Resist Moves By Lawmakers To Repeal, Amend 2021 Autonomy Law” and attributed to the Nigeria Labour Congress, Edo State Council. We wish to state categorically that the publication did not emanate from the authentic and duly recognized Edo State Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress and should therefore not be regarded as the official position of Edo NLC.
“The public is hereby advised to disregard the publication and any
statement purportedly issued on behalf of Edo NLC by Prof. Monday
Lewis Igbafen and his self-styled caretaker group, which does not
represent the recognised Edo State Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress. For the avoidance of doubt, the authentic Edo NLC as led by myself,Comrade Bernard Joman Egwakhide and other State Exco members along with the host Union PASSAN, was represented during our engagement with the newly elected Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly.
“At the meeting, the Speaker categorically clarified that there was no plan to repeal the autonomy law. He explained that what is being
contemplated are limited amendments relating only to Capital Projects
and is aimed at strengthening transparency and improving the operation
of the law, and not the abolition or withdrawal of legislative and judicial
autonomy.
Continuing,the NLC Chairman said, “It is therefore unfortunate that persons who do not speak for the
recognised Edo State NLC would rush to the media with a distorted
account of an issue that has already been clarified by the leadership of
the House.The Edo State NLC respects the constitutional independence of the
Legislature and Judiciary and will always support measures that
strengthen institutional autonomy, accountability, transparency and
good governance. At the same time, we believe that legitimate
amendments to legislation, where necessary, should not automatically
be misrepresented as an attempt to repeal or destroy the law.
“We therefore call on the Edo State House of Assembly, workers,
organised labour and the general public to disregard the misleading publication and other false claims being circulated by Prof. Igbafen in the name of Edo NLC.The authentic Edo State Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress as led by Comrade Bernard Joman Egwakhide remains committed to constructive engagement with the Edo State Government, the Edo State House of Assembly and all relevant stakeholders in defending the
interests of workers and strengthening democratic institutions in Edo
State. Our fight at the moment is against the Contributory Pension
scheme and its negative effects on our workers. We call on the State
Government to amend its law on the scheme”, Egwakhide posited.
