The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) elections has ended in chaos Thursday morning with suspected thugs breaking the ballot boxes and throwing out the papers as participants failed to elect a new president to succeed Abdulwahed Omar.
The International Conference Centre’s venue of the conference was thrown into confusion as delegates ran for dear lives after some aggrieved contestants and their supports suddenly became violent, hijacking and destroying ballot boxes even while voting was still underway.
The election was progressing smoothly until some discrepancies were observed in the ballot papers.
The discovery led to allegations that culminated in fisticuffs and throwing of chairs at each other by some of the delegates at the International Conference Centre, the venue of the conference in Abuja.
One of our correspondents gathered that some of the delegates felt that the ballot papers were deliberately printed to facilitate the rigging of the election in favour of one of the candidates.
The candidates are the NLC current National Treasurer, Ayuba Wabba; the Deputy President, Joe Ajaero, and the President, Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, Achese Igwe who later stepped down.
Some of the ballot papers, according to some of the delegates, had Wabba’s name in three places and Ajaero in two places. Others which did not have Ajaeros name on them also had no serial numbers.
The delegates from Igwe’s constituency, NUPENG, were said to have called attention to the discrepancies in the ballot papers.
When the argument over the issue degenerated, some of the delegates loyal to either Wabba or Ajaero, started hauling chairs at each other, thereby causing pandemonium at the venue. Others seized and destroyed the ballot boxes.
Wabba seemed to have a brighter chance of being elected the next President of the congress until Tuesday when Igwe, who is also the NUPENG President, stepped down and declared support for Ajaero.
Delegates loyal to Ajaero are of the view that the organisers of the election may have allowed deliberate errors in the ballot papers to pave the way for the election of Wabba.
The leadership of the congress has however called a meeting of the National Administrative Council to decide on how to solve the crisis.
Our correspondent, who was at the Labour House Headquarters of the NLC in Abuja, observed that the meeting was ongoing as of the time of filing this report.
With the outcome of the delegates conference, the NLC appears to be heading for a major division.
Investigations reveal that MHWUN, the NUEE and NUPENG contributed N423m, N320m and N159m, respectively to the congress between 2011 and June 2014. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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Lol...I cannot laugh. No agency or arm or unit of the society can organize a sane election again!
ReplyDeleteI watch with SHAME on CHANNELS T.V how OLD MEN & WOMEN were DISGRACING themselves in the name of ELECTION. If 3000 ADULTS that include GRAND MOTHERS & FATHERS could not CONDUCT a CREDIBLE ELECTION, I wonder where those that will CONDUCT one for over 30million PEOPLE will come from. Pls NIGERIANS should STOP blaming those at the HELM, bcos they can not PERFORM better if given the chance.
ReplyDeleteSHAME! SHAME!! SHAME!!!!!!!
I just they laugh. what a shame
ReplyDeleteMehn! Why did I miss this show? Where can I get to watch it?
ReplyDeleteNLC as a body cannot conduct credible election, this is a professionals and learned set of people. How then can you advice INEC in this your messsssss/????????? is pity
ReplyDelete