‎By: Titus Oise, Benin.

‎The Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Public Service Reportorial, Secretarial, Data Processors and Allied Workers (NUPSRAW), Edo State Council, Comrade Ireotoi Kingsley, has called on the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to intervene over the alleged withholding of his international passport and visa despite approval to attend the fast approaching International Labour Organization (ILO) Conference.

‎‎According to Comrade Kingsley, there was no official restriction barring NUPSRAW officials from applying for the conference. Acting on that understanding, he applied through the national office and was reportedly nominated by the NLC as delegate No. 64 on the official list.

‎‎He disclosed that in the course of processing the trip, he personally paid the sum of N160,000 for the VISA application through Hon. Uche and further spent approximately N750,000 of his personal funds on flight arrangements, accommodation, transportation, and other logistics connected to the VISA interview process at the VFS Office.

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‎He further explained that he personally monitored the application process through official SMS and email notifications sent directly to him, which later confirmed that his VISA application had been successfully approved.

‎According to him, upon receiving the approval notification, he forwarded the collection details to Comrade Sabastin at his request to facilitate the collection of the passport and VISA on his behalf. He stated that the documents were successfully collected, as confirmed by the VFS Office, but have since not been released to him.

‎‎The Edo State NUPSRAW Chairman said he was later informed that the withholding of the passport and VISA was allegedly based on the instruction of the National President ,Comrade Joe Ajaero due to the perceived lingering crisis within the union.

‎‎Describing the development as deeply troubling, Comrade Kingsley stressed that an International Passport remains a personal document and that withholding it constitutes an infringement on his fundamental rights and freedom of movement.

‎‎He also lamented the significant personal financial losses already incurred in the process and called for immediate intervention to ensure the release of his passport and VISA.

‎‎“I humbly appeal to the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Joe Ajaero and all concerned authorities to kindly intervene and facilitate the immediate release of my International Passport and VISA,” he posited.

‎The matter has continued to generate concern among labour stakeholders as preparations for the ILO Conference intensify.