A
body known as New Nigeria Parliament, some civil society groups, workers and
students in Edo State, on Thursday, protested against the endorsement of
Governor Adams Oshiomhole by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade
Union Congress (TUC) for a second term of office.
The protesters, drawn from the 18 local government areas of the
state, converged on Benin City for the protest tagged Anti-Labour Endorsement
rally.
The president of the New Nigerian Parliament and coordinator of
the rally, Pastor Leo Olu Martins, a former Student Union Government (SUG)
president in Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, said the youth and civil
society groups in the state had totally lost confidence in the NLC and the TUC.
He said the organised labour, which was supposed to create a level
playing field for all candidates in the forthcoming governorship election in
the state and serve as pressure group along with civil society groups to
monitor elections, had now mobilised Edo workers to support a particular
candidate.
“Suppose Adams Oshiomhole does not win the election, does that
mean that labour had pitched itself as an opposition party to the new
administration? Is organised labour, that is civil servants, allowed to openly
campaign for a particular candidate of a political party? Why would a
government who pays the workers endorse such a political charade when it knows
it can dangle the carrot and stick for any erring affiliate union? What are the
chances of other candidates who want to approach workers for support? Will they
receive such support since they are not in government?”
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