Chris Ngige, minster of Labour and Employment, has denied alleged plans to proscribe Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and also warned the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) against false claim that NUPENG was its affiliate.
Ngige on Wednesday described the allegation that his ministry was planning to proscribe the oil workers’ union, as “cheap and unconscionable lies.”
The union had accused the minister of being on a vendetta mission, for requesting it to submit its 2017 and 2018 audited accounts within 72 hours. It alleged that the request was a ploy to proscribe it because of the recent disagreement over the non appointment of Frank Kokori, a former general secretary of NUPENG, as chairman of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), which led to the picketing of the minister’s residence in Abuja by labour unions.
But the labour ministry, a statement, explained the genesis of its request. It said “on May 13, 2019, a letter was written by the Department of Trade Union Services and Industrial Relations (TUSIR) of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, precisely by the registrar of Trade Union to both the NUPENG and Trade Union Congress (TUC) drawing the attention of the unions to the non-rendition of their financial returns for the years 2017 and 2018. The letter directed that the unions should comply according to the provisions of sections 40 and 37(i) of the Trade Unions Act of 2004 which states that “every registered body shall send to the registrar before June 1, each year, an annual return in the prescribed form… and shall be certified as correct by the dully appointed auditor.”
“NUPENG and TUC being in breach of this section 37(i) the registrar of Trade Union invoked sec.40 of the Trade Unions Act Cap T.14 (LFN) 2004 which gives the registrar of Trade Union powers to request that all the books of accounts of defaulting unions be submitted to the registrar for further scrutiny to make for accountability in the management of the unions’ funds, which are check-of dues of workers deducted at source from their salaries.
“While the TUC president personally came to the ministry to explain his predicament and asked for extension of time on compassionate ground, the ever combative, arrogant and ill-informed NUPENG leadership took to the press for base name-calling, reminding everyone of their ill-fated invasion of the private residence of the minister and asking this group of junior cadre oil workers, especially tanker drivers, to be on red alert for strike – thus threatening Nigerians instead of apologising for being in default. We warn NUPENG to cease forthwith with this bogey of tanker drivers.
JOSHUA BASSEY
