Instability, inconsistency and flagrant disobedience for unions’ constitutions and court orders in Nigeria labour movement continue unabated with the current development in the National Union of Foods, Beverages and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE). The union is being rocked by serious crisis that has once again portrayed trade unionism in the country in a very bad light.
Already, NUFBTE has been factionalized by leadership crisis that pitched the President, Comrade Lateef Oyelekan and a few of his supporters on one hand, with some of members of the national executive led by the National Signing Trustee, Comrade Peter Onoja, and the union’s General Secretary, Comrade Bamidele Busari, on the other.
Against a court injunction, the faction led by the President has held what it termed an emergency delegates conference, where the tenure of Comrade Oyelekan was purportedly extended by two years, after he had spent 12 years (three terms of four years) as the president of the union.
Before the emergency delegates conference was held, some members of the union had gone to the National Industrial Court (NIC) to stop what they described as illegal “emergency delegates conference,” which they said is alien to the constitution of NUFBTE. They also sought a court order to stop illegal extension of the tenure of the president and other officers. Rather, they called for a normal delegates conference where election would be conducted to choose new officers.
In a suit no. NICN/LA/189/2020, 30 members of the union, for themselves and on behalf of all aggrieved members of NUFBTE dragged the union’s president and 18 others, including all members of the union executives, NUFBTE itself and the Registrar of Trade Union before the court.
The aggrieved members had sought an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the defendants, from conducting or holding the planned emergency delegates conference. They also sought same to restrain the defendants from ratifying or giving effect to the purported resolution passed by the National Executive Council meeting of the union on February 4, 2019.
On August 19, 2020, the National Industrial Court, Lagos judicial division, gave an order of interlocutory injunction stopping the union from conducting the emergency delegates conference scheduled to hold on Friday, August 21, 2020, until a substantive suit bothering on the violation of the union’s constitution was resolved.
Granting the prayers for an interim injunction to the applicants, Justice . I. J. Essien said: “I have already held that this court has the jurisdiction to hear and determine this suit since it bothers on the interpretation and application of the constitution of the trade union. I have also noted that the notice of the meeting dated 6/7/2020 calling for the emergency National Delegates Conference does not comply with Rule 7(1) of the l8th defendant constitution. Also there is a breach of Rule 7 (iii) which requires the agenda for the meeting to be served two weeks before the meeting.
“This is the appropriate case in which the defendants/respondents ought to be restrained until the determination of this suit.”
The court added: “In the light of the above, the two prayers sought in the motion papers are granted as follows: an order of interlocutory injunction is hereby granted restraining the 1st to 18th defendants/respondents and all other officers of the 18th defendants from conducting or holding the planned emergency delegates conference now schedule for August 21, 2020, the agenda being to ratify the illegal and unconstitutional decision by the 1st to 17th Defendants to postpone the period for conduct of elections into all elective offices particularly the elective offices presently occupied by the 1th to 11th defendants for two years and to illegally extend the tenure of office of the current elected officers of the 18th defendant particularly that of the 1st to 11th defendants contrary to the provisions of the Constitution of the 18th defendant, pending the hearing and determination of this suit.
“An order of interlocutory injunction is hereby granted restraining the 1st to 18th defendants from ratifying or giving effect to the purported resolution passed at the National Executive Council meeting of the 18th defendant on the February 4, 2019, as contained in the document dated February 20, 2019, with Ref No: NUF/NHS/GSNOL. 1/08, titled ‘outcome of 2019 National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of NUFBTE in Abuja’ extending and or postponing the period for conduct of elections into various elective positions/all structures of the 18th defendant and extending and or elongating the tenure of office of elected officers of the union by a period of two years beyond the tenure/ period constitutionally provided and contrary to the Constitution of the union, pending the hearing and determination of this suit.”
The court further stated that parties are hereby ordered to respect the orders of this court; and warned that, “failure to adhere to the orders of this court would be visited with the appropriate sanctions.”
The judge added: “This court in couple of cases have decided that issues concerning elections and infringement of electoral provision in the constitution of trade unions are urgent matters. Accordingly, this suit is placed on accelerated hearing, and the matter shall be called up before the substantive judge after the annual vacation of this court.”
Against the court order, the Oyelekan-led faction went ahead to hold the emergency delegates conference, and suspended the union’s General Secretary, Comrade Bamidele Busari, who served the court order and refused to be part of the process as well as the National Signing Trustee, Comrade Peter Onoja. Also purportedly suspended or expelled for refusing to be part of the process are Comrades Abiodun Philip, Olawuwo Abiodun, Lawrence Amechi Abadom and a host of others.
However, in a letter written to the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige on August 17, 2020, and titled: ‘Leadership Re-Organisation in NUFBTE,’ the General Secretary, Comrade Busari, who signed the letter said, “following the expiration of the tenure of Comrade Oyelekan Lateef led administration, coupled with his refusal to conduct a normal delegates conference as required by our constitution, the National Administrative Committee of our union, at its meeting held on Monday August 17, 2020, critically x-rayed his leadership style and how he plunged the union into debts, maladministration and jungle Justice. The NAC unanimously passed a vote of no confident on Oyelekan led administration and dissolves them in its entirety.”
The General Secretary went ahead to list the names of 11 officers constituted as the new NAC of the union to pilot the affaires of the union in acting capacity “pending a proper conduct of national delegates conference within a shortest possible time.” Comrade Onaja, the National Signing Trustee was named as the acting president.
The letter, which was also copied to the Director of Trade Union Services and the Registrar of Trade Union in the Ministry of Labour and Employment was acknowledged by both the Labour Minister and the Director on the August 25, 2020.
When contacted, Comrade Onaja, said there is now a parallel government because of the crisis created by Comrade Oyenekan, adding that two factions now exist in NUFBTE, and he led one of the factions.
He said: “Now we have two factions in the house, I am the President of one of the factions. I am the former National Signing Trustee of the union. Our President has served four years as deputy president, 13 years as president, making a total of 17 years.”
Though, he admitted that the union’s constitution has no tenure limit and someone can contest for as many as possible, he added that the constitution emphasised that election must hold every four years to choose leadership.
The factional president said: “Our constitution has no tenure limit. You can contest as many times, but the constitution makes it clear that every four years, you must have elections. This year is our conference year and the president wanted to do an emergency delegates conference and the subject matter is only one agenda, tenure elongation. That he wants to elongate his tenure for two years.
“So, some of us feel bad that if the constitution says every four years you must hold election, even if you want to contest, hold election, if you win everybody will support you legitimately. But he refused; so we approached the National Industrial Court and on August 19, the National Industrial Court gave an interlocutory injunction that no emergency conference should hold until the determination of the case.”
Comrade Onaja said many of the union members were surprised to see that on the night of August 20, they went ahead to hold “a kangaroo emergency conference and came out in the morning to write a letter that some of us are suspended.”
He pointed out that over 25 branches of the union have written to the general secretary and passed vote of no confidence on his leadership, saying that his tenure has since expired since January this year.
While waiting for the court to resume from vacation to pursue the case, he said they are taking other steps to end the illegality in the union. These, according to him, include meeting with the security agencies, while they have written several letters to the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige. He called on the Federal Government and well-meaning Nigerians to help the union members.
“So, we are begging Nigerians to come to our aid in food union because the place has become a one-man business and he does things without recourse to constitution,” he said.
Reacting to the allegations, the acting General Secretary under Comrade Oyenekan faction said the union leadership was not properly served the court injunction, even as he accused the judge of being biased.
Speaking, he said: “Our union is still intact, it is only that some people were trying to portray it so. Our union is not in crisis. Our union is guided by our constitution and we have been following the dictate of that constitution meticulously without division.
“Our president is at the end of his third tenure. When he was elected, our union was nowhere, no progress, but with commitment and dedication, he made sure he diversified our union in terms of investments, established so many investments like hotels and water factories.”
On the court injunction and tenure elongation against the union’s constitution, he said, “the issue of about whether there is court injunction or not, I want to make it known to you that when there is court injunction or any court order, it must be properly served to the person the order is made against. But as I speak to you those people were in court about this extension, and we have not been served.
“Yes, it is not clearly stated in our constitution that there can be extension like that, fine, but there is no constitution in the world that is completely perfect.”
That is why, when there was a situation and exigences, like it happened in Nigeria during President Yar’ Adua crisis, the doctrine of necessity was evoked.”
He stated that they didn’t just wake up to give extension, it passed through the process of National Executive Council, National Administrative Council and the emergency delegates conference. He pointed out that the action taken was based on their lawyers advice, adding that the judge involved in giving the injunction has been compromised as their lawyer left the court in anger.
He said: “We were not served with court injunction, nobody served us. You can find out at law court, injunction of that nature has to be served. We were not served anything, there was nothing stopping us and we decided to hold the conference.”
However, he said anybody that has anything against the holding of the conference knows what to do, adding, “supposing the injunction is properly served and we did not obey, it is clear, go back to court.”
He said they were ready to abide by the judgment of the court if a court of competent jurisdiction now declared the delegate conference and the tenure extension null and void. “Of course, we are Nigerians, we are law abiding people, we will.”
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