The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has been directed by Mr. Falonipe Amos, Registrar of Trade Unions in Nigeria, to cease meddling in the affairs of the Labour Party (LP).
Mr Obiora Ifoh, National Publicity Secretary, LP, said this in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja.
The NLC has reportedly been at odds with the Labour Party leadership over proprietary rights claims, claiming to be the party’s owner, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
The registrar’s intervention was a sequel to a letter to the office by LP National Chairman, Mr Julius Abure, dated July 10, 2024.
The letter was entitled: Request for Your Urgent Intervention: The Need to Define the Roles of NLC.
He quoted Amos as saying that the Act establishing the NLC does not permit it to interfere in the political activities of any political party.
Amos pointed NLC in the direction of Trade Unions Act, Cap. T14 & TI5 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, Section 15 (1) (2) (3).
It provides that “On no account should NLC be involved in the running or patronising political parties or persons into elective office.’’
He said Section 15(1) of the Trade Union Act specifically states that it is illegal for NLC or any other trade union to use funds generated by its members for the furtherance of any political objective.
“The following objectives, and no others, are political objective for the purpose of this section, that is to say, “the making of contribution towards the funds of any political party’’, it said.
It also bars NLC from the payment of any expenses incurred, directly or indirectly, by a candidate of prospective candidate for election to any political office in Nigeria or any part of Nigeria, among other provisions.
“I want to request that the NLC leadership follow the aforementioned provisions of the Trade Unions Act when interacting with the Labour Party and other political parties,” the registrar was quoted by Ifoh as stating.
