NLC Conference: Two Zones Protest Partial Delegates Allocation

LABOUR unions in the South East and South South Zones yesterday staged a protest march in Umuahia to vent their anger against what they called alleged moves to marginalise them in the allocation of delegates to the 11th National Delegates Conference rescheduled to hold on March 12.
  The protesters expressed dismay at the way delegates were allocated in the botched conference and the poise to repeat it.
  Speaking on the crisis, Comrade Chris Okoro, said the protest was informed by what happened to them at the National Delegates Conference, where the allocation of delegates was tailored in favour of the North.”
   He accused the NLC national leadership led by Comrade Abdulwaheed Umar of purposely ensuring that the South South and South East Zones of the union were disadvantaged as a way of frustrating Joe Ajaero, who is contesting for NLC top job.
    According to Okoro, who is the chairman of the Abia State Chapter of Public Service Negotiating Council, it was wrong to give preference to the North in the allocation of delegates. He described the decision as a grand design to install Comrade Ayuba Wabba as the next NLC president.
 Okoro said out of the 525 delegates produced by the Medical and Health Workers Union, only five delegates were allocated to the entire South East, representing one from each state.
While the Civil Service Union of Abia State was given just one delegate out of the expected 12 from the overall 40 delegates allocated to the union.
 Okoro stated that the rescheduled conference will not hold and that there would be crisis, if any attempt to manipulate the allocation of delegates is observed.
    Also, the state chairman of Medical and Health Workers, Comrade Uchenna Ezekiel, noted that even after his union had paid N2 million check-off dues, it was allocated only a delegate vowing, saying such gross manipulation of the electoral process would no longer be tolerated in the union.