Group asks FG, TUC to intervene in union’s crisis, reinstate sacked leaders 

A Labour group, All Workers Convergence (AWC), yesterday, called for a reinstatement of the President, Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), Innocent Bola-Audu; the union’s Deputy Secretary-General, Princewill Akamo and other officials suspended by the union, imploring the Federal Government and Trade Union Congress (TUC) to intervene in the crisis rocking ASCSN.

The National Coordinator of AWC, Andrew Emelieze, in a statement, said Audu, Akamo, and not fewer than 20 others were recently sacked.

Emelieze, who is a former Oyo State Chairman of ASCSN, said the union was disturbed by the step, calling on the Federal Ministry of Labour and its registrar to intervene in the ASCSN crisis to avert a miscarriage of justice.

“We demand the reinstatement of the suspended President Comrade Bola Audu. Ordinarily, we expect ASCSN to stand to the end with its President and not hurriedly suspend him, based on petitions that are yet to be substantiated.

“Moreover, the immediate past President of ASCSN, Comrade Boboi Kegama had similar issues, and the union stood by him throughout his travails and was made the ASCSN President, despite being sacked by the Taraba State Civil Service.

The case of Comrade Audu should not be different.

“We demand the reinstatement of the sacked Deputy General Secretary of ASCSN, Comrade Princewill Akamo, and the over 20 recently sacked staff of the union by the secretariat.

“It is our view that the union is expected to protect jobs and not go against what it is supposed to promote by encouraging incessant sack of workers. The hurriedly sacking of over twenty staff last month does not paint the union in good light, especially when the Secretary-General is to retire on September 29, 2021. He is sacking workers three months to his exit from work.

“We demand the withdrawal of all petitions and court charges against the ASCSN President. We seek further explanations from the ASCSN President and the Secretary-General (SG) on the crisis rocking the association.

“We demand recourse to the provisions of ASCSN constitution in resolving issues, rather than the discretionary impositions as seen in the selection of an acting President, which has no place in the union’s Constitution. So, we demand the immediate halting of all forms of employment terminated by the union.”