THE National President of Nigeria’s oldest trade union, the Nigeria Civil Service Union (NCSU), Comrade Lawrence Amaechi, has been asked to stop parading himself as the National President of NCSU with effect from September 9, 2021 following his alleged retirement from public service last Wednesday, September 8, 2021 after 35 years.
In separate letters addressed to the General Secretary of NCSU, Comrade Bomoi Mohammed Ibraheem, and President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Ayuba Wabba, acknowledged copies of which were obtained by National Record, a member of NCSU’s Federal Council, Comrade Benson Ekasa, alleged that Comrade Amaechi is no longer qualified to preside over the affairs of the NCSU as he has retired in line with extant civil service rules having served 35 years.
Comrade Ekasa, in his September 8, 2021 letter, entitled “Re: Retirement of the Purported National President of NCSU from the Federal Civil Service,” prayed the General Secretary of the union to ensure that Comrade Amaechi “stop parading himself as the National President of the Union w.e.f [with effect from] 9th September, 2021.
Ekasa, in the letter further urged the General Secretary to: “Ensure that, Com. Amaechi does not have access to the Account of the Union w.e.f 9th September, 2021;
“That all properties belonging to the Union (Including the Vehicles, Bank Tokens and other valuables) be retrieved from Com. Amaechi immediately;
“That as members of the Union, in compliance with Rule 4b (ii)…the books of the Union (which may include the Bank balance etc.) will be demanded for……the General Secretary who is the official Administrative Head may be held accountable on any irregularities observed;
“Every Officials of the Union be it Federal or State, who has retired from Service should not be recognized;
“That, with effect from same date as above, the Nigeria Labour Congress should stop recognizing Com. Amaechi as one of her Vice Presidents as he has no constitutional right to represent the Workers of the Nigeria Civil Service Union.”
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Comrade Ekasa noted that he decided to draw the attention of the National Secretariat of the union because of what he described as “a result of Secrecy on the part of Com. Lawrence Uchechukwu Amaechi (the illegal National President of the NCSU).”
While recalling the crisis that has engulfed the union and led to prolonged litigation up to now, and attributing it to “greed for power and desire to change the constitution of the Union in order to suit selfish interest by some officials of the Union,” Comrade Ekasa said he is compelled to write and draw the General Secretary’s your attention to the urgent need to act on the basis of some salient constitutional necessities with respect to membership of the union as well as judicial pronouncements based on the provisions of Nigeria’s labour laws.
“The General Secretary may also be in the know of the following issues as a custodian of the constitution of this great Union (The NCSU) that:
“Membership of the Union shall be drawn from Public Services of the Federation and States (Rule 4 (a(i));
“Membership of the Union is provided for under item 19 of part B of the third schedule to the Trade Unions Act to be made up of all workers of the Federal and States Government……(See page 23, Paragraph 45 Final Judgement of the case between Com. Benson Ekasa & 1 Or. Vs. Com. Kiri Mohammed & 2 Ors.);
“A member shall pay his/her contribution to the funds of the Union regularly (Rule 4(c)(i)) Constitution of the NCSU;
“A member shall pay his/her check-off dues……….of his/her basic salary…..(Rule 5 (a)i) Constitution of the NCSU;
“The General Secretary may also be informed of the following that came from the Litigation:
“The election that Com. Amaechi claimed brought him as the President of the Union was nullified by the National Industrial Court in one of its Ruling in 2018. (See page 3, Order 1of the Ruling of November 1st, 2018; the case between Com. Benson Ekasa & 1 Or. Vs. Com. Kiri Mohammed & 2 Ors.);
“Paragraph 48, page 25 of the Final Judgement of the National Industrial Court on the 25th Day of October, 2019, between Com. Benson Ekasa & 1 Or. Vs. Com. Kiri Mohammed & 2 Ors. the court ruled that… “An order is hereby made for the 3rd Defendant not to recognize and register any amendment of the Constitution of the 2nd Defendant in order to allow any amendment of the 2nd Defendant’s constitution in order to allow any official of the 2nd Defendant to continue to act for the 2nd Defendant after his or her due retirement from the Civil Service of Nigeria, whether State or Federal,” Comrade Ekasa wrote.
In the copy of the letter to NLC, Comrade Ekasa, after highlighting the essential details above, noted that the “election that Com. Amaechi claimed brought him as the President of the Union was nullified by the National Industrial Court in one of its Ruling in 2018…”
He asked the NLC to, with effect from 9th September, 2021, stop recognising Comrade Amaechi “as one of her Vice Presidents as he has no constitutional right to represent the Workers of the Nigeria Civil Service Union”
My action guaranteed by our constitution – Comrade Ekasa
When contacted Monday afternoon in a telephone interview why he is the sole signatory to the letters instead of multiple members of the union which might consolidate his argument, Comrade Ekasa told National Record that as he noted in the letters, his action is guaranteed by Rule 4b(i) of the Constitution of the NCSU, which gives me the right to challenge acts that are unconstitutional.
“As a member of the union, I even stated that in the memo; our constitution permits a member, as far as you are a due-paying member; there is a rule to that effect, that says a member can raise questions on any matter that he sees as a violation of the union’s constitution,” Ekasa said.
Asked if the members of the Federal Council of the union or other union members are behind him on this matter, Ekasa has this to say: “I pay my dues from my salary, so I have the right to have my dues monitored or managed properly so whether they are with me or not is not really my priority as far as I’m a stakeholder in the union.”
When this reporter challenged him if majority of the members of the union feel they are in support of the continuation of Comrade Amaechi irrespective of his service status, and in spite of the disagreement of a few members on the legality or otherwise, Ekasa responded:
“What we do in the union is to work with the constitution and then, the highest organ of the union is the Delegates Conference; so if the Delegates Conference has not sat to say let’s change the constitution, and I say as a member of the union I have right, then, I think I can stand on my own, I don’t need anybody to stand with me to raise issues of constitutionality. The constitution of the union permits me to do what I am doing.
The highest law-making organ of the union is the Delegates Conference and it comes every four years. Now, if the conference has not sat to say, this man should carry on, I don’t think he can carry on.”
Comrade Ekasa also spoke on how the vacancy would be filled in the event that his allegation is proven to be true. “According to the constitution, if there is vacancy, whether due to retirement or any sort of exit from the position, the union can fill the position by either doing a by-election or appointing somebody to step in pending when election is conducted. For this case, we can’t do a by-election because the tenure is almost over. Ordinarily, there are two deputy presidents and five vice presidents, amongst other national officers; they can appoint one of them to step in.”
When National Record drew Ekasa’s attention to a tradition in the NLC where an officer and representative of a union in the leadership of NLC is usually allowed to serve out his or her tenure after vacating the union’s position, a situation the NLC leadership may use to turn down the petition even if the allegation was right, Ekasa said: “Well, for me, the NLC is a body of affiliates. If the man is not representing me in my union, I don’t see any reason why he should still be retained by the NLC; that’s number one.
Number two; if you see the memo I wrote to them, I am saying they should stop recognising him as somebody that is representing the union. He cannot be a retired civil servant and be representing a union of serving civil servants. If he must be in a union, then there is already a union for him, he should go and join the pensioners union and seek to represent them.
“He is not the best among every one of us; he doesn’t have a special skill that all of us lack for us to say that, oh, without this man, our union will not run, it is a different issue. He doesn’t have a special skill; he is not more gifted than every other members or national officers of the union; so why must it be him? If he is retired, he is retired; he cannot represent us as a retired civil servant while we are still in service.”
I’ve not seen letter, but it’s everywhere on social media – General Secretary
When contacted for his reaction to the petition on Monday, Comrade Bomoi Mohammed Ibraheem, NCSU’s new General Secretary who resumed on Wednesday, September 1, 2021 said he was yet to officially receive Comrade Ekasa’s petition, which he said is everywhere on the social media.
“They said he sent it here; I have not seen it, but I have seen it online on social media. I don’t think we respond to social media petition; NCSU is a responsible and responsive organisation,” the General Secretary told National Record. He said it is not right for an internal matter of this nature to be externalised and made a media issue.
“This is a union that has organs, it is not a roadside union. So if you write a letter, it is natural that all internal mechanisms will be used to address the issues raised. He has just written; is there any need for Head of Service, for newspapers, for online publications to come in first; perhaps the right time for the letter to be circulated to the public should be when the right organs refused to take action on the matter…
“It is when we sit down and take decisions on the matter and you are not satisfied that you can go haywire. A situation where the organs of the union have not sat down, it will be wrong for anyone to say Comrade Amaechi has retired on the pages of newspaper. This is how people jump the gun,” Comrade Bomoi stated as he insisted he was not going to say anything further.
When this reporter asserted that he got the letters from the social media just like the General Secretary and that as journalist he is obliged to wait for the union to decide before reporting on the matter, the scribe of the oldest union in the country which was established in 1912, said: “Well, the organs are there and the organs will decide on the matter if indeed the letter was submitted properly.”
When asked when organs of the union will meet to deliberate on the matter, Comrade Bomoi declined to say as he simply said: “I will not give you date, whether we will have a meeting or not; it is our internal arrangement.”
We’re hearing this as rumour – Chairman of Chairmen of NCSU State Councils
Like the General Secretary of the union, Comrade Kabiru Inuwa, the Chairman of the Forum of Chairmen of State Councils of NCSU, popular known within the union as Chairman of Chairmen, declined to comment when contacted Monday afternoon, saying that it is within the realm of rumours. “Definitely, we are hearing this as a rumour,” he said.
When National Record assured him that the copies in its possession, even though obtained from the social media were stamped and signed as received by both the NLC and NCSU, Comrade Inuwa simply said: “I am not aware, but if it is true, there are organs responsible for settling that kind of problem.”
I heard about the letter but not seen it – Deputy President
For Comrade Jibrin Bancir, NCSU’s Deputy President, he has heard about the letter but yet to see it. “I have heard about the letter but I have not seen it yet; so I can’t comment on a letter that I have not seen its content. I heard some people talking about it all around the councils,” the Deputy President told National Record Tuesday morning.
When briefly told that the letter alleged that the National President of his union, Comrade Amaechi, had retired from the federal civil service on the 8th of Sept, 2021, and that the member of the union who wrote the letter, Comrade Benson Ekasa has claimed that in line with the union’s constitution, Comrade Amaechi, having retired, is no longer supposed to be either a member of the union or hold any office in the union, the National Deputy President said: “I think the right way to go about it is that, since it is an issue of retirement, because I am a civil servant and as far as I’m concerned, I have not seen those documents; when I see them I will authenticate and I can give you my own position.
“It is not something confidential; it is an issue that, for me as Deputy President, I must get right with the basic information before I make any comment. For me, it will be unfair and unjust for me to comment on an issue that I have not authenticated its genuineness.
“The most important thing for me, nobody has sent any document to me yet, and even if documents were sent to me, I must first and foremost ensure their authenticity to enable me express my views. There is no secret thing in this life.”
When asked if as a high ranking national officer of the union the leadership will call for an organ meeting to discuss the letter, Comrade Jibrin said: “Ordinarily, that is what it should be, but as I am talking to you, I have not heard anything officially. Like I told you, I have heard so many comments like that and now I am hearing from you. Should we convene meeting over rumours? I will say no!”
To support his position against calling a meeting, the Deputy President argued: “What are we going to present to the organ meeting if we call one? Mind you, there are agendas to meetings. Most times, when we have this kind of issues in most organisations that I know, and as a leader, I don’t approve of organisations being run on the basis of rumours. Can we say we heard this from the rumour mill? That means every day we will be calling organ meetings and when you are to make presentation or substantiate your calling a meeting, you will be made a fool.
“I have told you clearly that if I get any document, I will need to first and foremost prove that it is authentic before taking an official action. The document was not communicated to us officially; that is how organs work; that is how institutions work. So, we have not received any document officially.
“I am sitting as a Deputy President Civil Service Union; and for now, the people that are peddling these documents around, we can’t take any action on that. There is need for a procedure, so if somebody writes an official petition or complaint to the union, there are staff that are designated to act on it, and you will give them specific instructions so that the feedback on that will necessitate the next line of action. If it is something we can handle at the NAC, then fine, then we will call NAC meeting. But in this matter, I have heard so many rumours.
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Comrade Amaechi should simply join pensioners union – former National Trustee
Having read the petition, have we had this type of precedence in the union who retired but refused to step down?
A former National Trustee of NCSU, Comrade Ade Adebakin, in his reaction told National Record on Wednesday afternoon that this type of situation where a retired National President refused to leave office had never happened before in the union. “It has never happened before in the history of the Civil Service Union. When we have a President whom everybody knows has left service refusing to leave office, Comrade Adebakin said.
On the possible steps that needed to be taken to resolve the matter, Comrade Adebakin said the General Secretary has what it takes to overcome the crisis.
“It is good that the petition has gone viral, to the NLC and to the General Secretary of our union. I know the General Secretary very well and he is up to the task; he has the competence and the experience; he has what it takes and I am sure he knows what to do to resolve the vacancy; I would not want to say anything beyond that only to say that all is well that ends well. Amaechi has retired and he should simply just leave and go and join the Nigerian Union of Pensioners; that is where he belongs,” he said.
NAC may meet next week, as embattled President, NLC refused to comment
Multiple sources in the union’s Wuse Zone 6 National Secretariat confided in this reporter on Wednesday that the leadership at the secretariat may have decided to call a meeting of the National Administrative Council (NAC) for next week, although they were not sure of either the date or whether it will be virtual or physical.
A senior officer of the union said the meeting may not be possible next week but towards the end of September, possibly between 27th and 30th. “Whatever happens, no matter what, we will come out stronger; we will know how to resolve the issue; I would have loved that this issue is not even in the public purview or in the media, but in spite of that we resolve the matter amicably,” the source assured.
Efforts made by National Record to get the reactions of Comrade Amaechi failed as he did not respond to an sms sent to his mobile number since Monday as at press time.
When contacted on Monday for his reaction on the matter, Comrade Ismail Bello, Acting General Secretary of the NLC, first said he will call the reporter back as he was urgently going to call someone on transit for direction to his office. When he did not call back after over two hours, this reporter called him again, but he said he was at that moment in a meeting and would prefer a text message, which was sent via sms and whatsapp. He did not respond as at press time.
Similarly, an sms message to Comrade Ayuba Wabba, NLC President, since Monday was not responded to as at press time.
