Ekiti NLC, TUC Slam 10-year Ban on Former Labour Leaders

Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti
For allegedly spearheading a protest  where they declared indefinite strike on  behalf of  labour leaders without authorisation, the former Ekiti State Chairmen of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC),  Ayodeji Aluko and Trade Union Congress(TUC), Kolawole Olaiya, have been barred   from  labour unionism for a period of ten years.

The joint session of Ekiti State trade unions took the decision in Ado Ekiti yesterday at a congress presided over by the state NLC Chairman, Ade Adesanmi and  his counterpart in TUC, Odunayo Adesoye.

The congress was attended by representatives of all affiliated unions.
The workers also passed a vote of confidence on the leaderships of the two unions in the state, declaring the dissolution pronouncement made during the Thursday’s rally by the two former labour leaders as unconstitutional, null and void.

The workers decried how the duo of Olaiya and Aluko had led a protest to the State Secretariat on Thursday and chased workers out of their offices with cudgels.
Addressing journalists after the congress, Adesanmi, called on the security agencies in the state to call the two

ex-labour leaders to order,  alleging  that they were bent on destabilising Ekiti to get political patronage from the incoming governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi.
“The illegal activities of the aforementioned ex-labour leaders acting under the guise of Ekiti Workers Rescue Team came to a climax on Thursday, August 23 when they gathered thugs and molested workers

who were carrying out their legitimate and lawful duties.
“There is need to ask them whose interest were they protecting, because they didn’t act when workers were owed over eight month salaries. They have never engaged the government to pay pensioners but they only woke up after the July 14 governorship election .

“Sometimes ago, an administrative panel was set up by the outgoing government of Governor Ayodele Fayose against Aluko and found him guilty of participating in electioneering  in 2015, which was against public servant. It was the same unions that intervened and ensured
that he was pardoned.

“It is no more news that Aluko was promoted to the position of Director of Administration at the Ekiti State Local Government ahead of his seniors and the government looked at this and reverted  him to the
rightful position. It was clear that this ex-labour leader is
aggrieved. But must he hide under non-payment of salary to get at the government?

“How could  labour leaders gathered thugs and pronounced the entire labour structure dissolved. Were they State Executive Council of the
labour unions? The two of them are not members of SEC, where now did they derive such powers,” Adesanmi explained.