Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting
The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has hit very hard on 11 of its executive members.
They have been expelled from the union while 15 others were suspended.
This action has been described as one of its most far-reaching disciplinary measures in the history of the Organised Labour in Nigeria.
The decisions were announced in a communiqué issued after an emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Lagos where the leadership said the sanctions became necessary to protect the “stability and integrity” of the congress.
The NEC said that the disciplinary measures followed the report of a special committee set up on April 27 to investigate alleged acts of “flagrant disobedience” by some officers, members and affiliates accused of disregarding resolutions and decisions of the Congress.
According to the communiqué signed by the President, Festus Osifo and Secretary General Nuhu Toro, the committee was mandated to invite affected persons, grant them fair hearing and recommend sanctions where culpability was established.
Among those expelled are four members from the Lagos State Council, including Abiodun Aladetan of Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), Gbolahan Kabiawu of NUAH, Veronica Egbukichi of Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and Salau Oladele of Senior Staff Association of Utilities, Statutory Corporations and Government-Owned Companies (SSAUSCGOC).
The congress also wielded the big stick in Rivers State, where Josiah Udoka, Emmanuel Onumbu and June Danangogo were expelled, while in Enugu State, Ben Asogwa, Simeon Ejikemen Akaeme and Igbokwe Joe Igbokwe were similarly sanctioned.
In Bayelsa State, Fefegha Muneneyi Edwin was expelled alongside others affected in the nationwide disciplinary sweep.
The NEC declared that the expelled members had ceased “forthwith to be members, officers, representatives or functionaries” of the congress in any capacity, warning that any attempt to continue acting in the name of the TUC would attract “appropriate decisive action.”
“The strength of TUC depends on the willingness of all officers, members and affiliates to respect its Constitution, obey the decisions of its organs and place the institution above individual considerations,” the communiqué said.
The congress further directed all affiliates, employers, institutions, labour centres, banks, government agencies and security organisations not to recognise the expelled members as representatives of the union movement.
In addition to the expulsions, the NEC announced the suspension of 15 officers for a period of two years with immediate effect. Those affected cut across Lagos, Rivers and Bayelsa State councils.
Among those suspended are Martins Adesanoye of Construction and Civil Engineering Senior Staff Association
(CCESSA), Idoka John of NMNWOTSSA, Nnamdi Cosmos, Jacob Simon Idakwo and Dr. Julius Laye of ASCSN.
Others sanctioned include Barrister Gita Matthew Peremobowei, Kuro Peri-Ockiya, Tupere Diekedie, Celestine Ondyima and Mabel Tabowei.
The NEC maintained that suspended officers would no longer function in any official capacity within the congress during the suspension period and would be barred from participating in meetings, elections and official engagements of the organisation.
The union reaffirmed its commitment to discipline and institutional authority, insisting that “no personal interest, ambition or grievance should be allowed to supersede the collective interest, lawful authority, unity and progress of the Congress.
