The internal crisis rocking the Edo State Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has taken a new turn as Comrade Mike Ochei, a member of the newly constituted caretaker committee, has resigned from his position.
Ochei, who also serves as the state chairman of the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN), announced his resignation during a meeting at the union’s state secretariat.
Ochei claimed he was coerced into joining the caretaker committee, insisting he had no interest in being part of the arrangement. According to him, the committee was formed by elements within the union seeking to cling to power through indirect means, a move he believes does not serve the best interest of labour in the state.
Speaking to journalists on Sunday, Ochei explained, “I am the state chairman of the union and we called a meeting where members of my union said they don’t want to be part of that arrangement and I should therefore step down and I have since stepped down from the caretaker committee.”
Reacting to the development, Acting Chairman of the Edo State NLC, Comrade Bernard Egwakhide, welcomed Ochei’s resignation, describing it as a positive sign and proof that the caretaker committee lacks legitimacy. He accused the national leadership of the NLC, under Joe Ajaero, of attempting to impose leaders on the state council.
“It just showed that Ajaero is just trying to force a leadership on us, we here are all on the same page,” Egwakhide said. “The Professor Igbafen that he is bringing has never attended any of our meetings before, he has never been part of the NLC in Edo State, he was picked. We have one formidable union in the state.”
He further questioned the process that brought the caretaker committee into existence, stating that no State Executive Council (SEC) meeting was called to confirm the acceptance of the new leadership. “Ideally, if a new leadership comes up, they call a SEC meeting to know if they are acceptable but till now, they have not been able to do that because they know they are not acceptable,” he said. “The National Secretariat is just threatening other unions that they must listen to him and that is not the way to go.”
However, the chairman of the caretaker committee, Professor Monday Igbafen, refuted claims that the committee was an imposition. He maintained that Ochei was forced to resign under threats of impeachment and dismissed the notion that the committee lacked legitimacy.
“These people, can they attend the NLC NEC meeting? Definitely no,” Igbafen said. “We have been saying there is no need to escalate the crisis in Edo. The two factions had issues, that is why our committee was set up to reconcile. They are just inciting members of the union against their leaders.”
He also accused critics of spreading misinformation to the state government and reiterated the committee’s commitment to unity. “These same people are also feeding the government with information that is not correct. We have been reaching out to every member of the union because we are supposed to be one body. Our mandate is to resolve the crisis and unite every union in the state and that is our focus,” he said.
The leadership tussle within the Edo NLC appears far from over, as both sides continue to trade accusations and defend their legitimacy.
