… Members Stage A Walk-out

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Edo State council’s election bid for Tuesday, February 7, was disrupted with A scuffle as a front line contestant for chairmanship position, was disqualified in the process of conducting the election.

Trouble started when during a pre-election business meeting one of the contestants for chairmanship position, Comrade Lazarus Imokhai Adorolo, the current Chairman of NULGE in Edo State was told he had been disqualified.

Nonetheless, normalcy was still maintained in the hall until when members were asked to move motion ɗissolving the Odion Olaiye-led executives by the National Delegate for the election and representative of NLC National President, Comarde Mike Olanrewaju.

After this, Comarde Olanrewaju was addressing members of the NLC in Edo State when the disqualified contestant politily approached the National Delegate, Comrade Olanrewaju for a one or two comments before the election, but his request was turned down which resulted to exchange of words and consequently, a free-for-all, making members in the hall to scamper for safety.

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But Comarde Adorolo union -NULGE and 19 other unions, while arguing that the election should not hold, insisted that there’s already a count injunction, adding that he should be told why he was disqualified.

It took the intervention of operatives of the Department of State Services, DSS, and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, to restore normalcy to the hall, after which Adorolo union, two other contestants for the position of chairman alongside their unions and 16 others staged a walkout.

Addressing the press after his union and 18 others staged a walkout, Comarde Adorolo said despite meeting all the constitutional requirements, he was told he had been disquilified, adding that he was not told reason why he was disqualified.

He added that before now he had been pressured by some functionaries of Edo State Government, but he had insisted that if he must steped down, then the candidate sponsored by the government too must step down for new persons to show interest.

“Five persons showed interest in the chairmanship but one was called to Government House to write his withdrawal, which he did. There are pressures from government for people to step down.

“I was also approached by one of the government functionaries to step down but I insisted that it is not about me but the process, if I should step down, then government candidate too should step down, then let neutral persons come in, but they said no,” he added.

On his disqualification, he said: “I picked the form, filled it as required by law, and submitted, and no one invited me for a screening exercise; no body invited me for an oral chats; no body told me anything, only for me to get here, I was told that they screened my credentials and I was disqualified.

“When you are screening credentials, there are procedures, for instance, if the screening committee discovered any discrepancies, everyone expect I should be called for questioning, but this didn’t happen.”

He also accused the national body of NLC led by Comrade Joe Ajero of compromise, saying the present leadership of NLC is worse than INEC.

He said: “We are aware that the national leadership of NLC under Comarde Ajero has compromised, because Tuesday last week, we held a SEC meeting and thugs were brought into the hall to invade the secretariat of NLC in Benin. We did write a petition to the national leadership of the NLC calling for immediate intervention but till this moment, we have not heard from them. Ajero accused INEC of corruption after the just concluded election but unfortunately he is worse than INEC”

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He continued: “Of course I told the returning officer that he has compromised too. He called me and said we should do a single line up, and I told him it’s not a bad idea but let the two parties meet. He eventually opened up to me that my group was only given the position of an auditor, but I told him that cannot happen.

“Of course, I should be given the opportunity to make one or two remarks about the disqualification but he said I cannot talk. So, we have to stage a walkout. We are not participating in the election.

“We have already gone to court. The NLC headquarters was served a court paper this morning that we are in court with them. So, if we are in court with them on this election, it is unacceptable to conduct any election. It is contempt of court.”

He, therefore, called on the national leadership of the NL C to re-addess the Issues in Edo State.