- TUC President Confirms New Order, Says Working to Resolve Matter Internally
- It is a Lie, Where’s the Order? – ASSBIFI President
- Report What You Want to Report- PENGASSAN President
SOME affiliates of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) have written a strongly worded petition to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) requesting for immediate steps to stop the TUC from holding its 12th Triennial Delegates Conference slated for 19th and 20th July, 2022.
The affiliates, numbering ten, in the petition from their counsel, Adewale & Adewale Legal Practitioners, and signed by Timothy Oreofe Adewale Esq., stated that the IGP will be acting in public interest to avert a major national crisis within the labour circle, because the National Industrial Court had issued an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the TUC from holding the said delegates conference.
In the petition obtained by National Record, dated 15th July, 2022 and copied Nigeria’s Vice President, the Minister of Labour and Employment, the Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Registrar of Trade Unions, the unions said they received information that the TUC has “deliberately decided to ignore and disobey the said order of the Honourable court and taking further steps to go ahead with its 12th Triennial Delegates Conference on Tuesday 19th and Wednesday 20th July, 2022 in flagrant disobedience to the Court order.”
They (aggrieved affiliates) further alleged that the plot to go ahead with the conference despite the court order is “capable of destabilising public peace and a total disregard for rule of law especially given the volatile nature of…inter labour union disputes.”
They therefore tasked the IGP to use his good offices and leadership position to urgently prevail and stop the TUUC from going ahead with the conference.
National Record had reported how Justice Gwandu of the Lagos Division of the National Industrial Court on 6th July, 2022 granted an interlocutory injunction prayed for by ten affiliate associations of the TUC restraining it (TUC) from conducting its forthcoming triennial delegates’ conference scheduled to hold this Tuesday and Wednesday.
The order reads: “an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the Defendant/Respondent by itself, servants, officials, agents or privies by whatsoever name so called from holding its 12th Triennial Delegates’ Conference or taking any steps further to hold the 12th Triennial Delegates’ Conference of the Defendant/Respondent pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit before this Honourable Court.
“An order of interlocutory injunction restraining the Defendant/Respondent by itself, officers, servants, agents, or privies by whatsoever name so called from holding or taking further steps to hold and conduct elections into the position of President and other National Officers of the Defendant/Respondent pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit before the Honourable Court.”
The ten associations include: Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI); Pulp Paper and Paper Products Printing and Publishing Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PPAPPPAPSSAN); Nigeria Merchant Navy Officers and Water Transport Senior Staff Association (NMNO/WTSSA); Senior Staff Association of Shipping Clearing and Forwarding Agencies and Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATTSSSAN).
Others are Precision, Electrical and Related Equipment Senior Staff Association (PERESSA); Shop and Distributive Trade Senior Staff Association (SHOPDIS); Textile Garment and Tailoring Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (TGTSSAN); Senior Staff Association of Universities, Teaching Hospitals, Research Institutes and Associated Institutions (SSAUTHRIAI) and Automobile, Boatyard, Transport, Equipment and Allied Staff Association of Nigeria (AUTOBATE).
The aggrieved affiliates alleged that they reliably gathered that the TUC had deliberately decided to ignore and disobey the NIC order and is actually taking further steps to proceed with the conference as scheduled.
“These are acts capable of destabilising public peace and a total disregard for rule of law especially given the volatile nature of their inter labour union disputes.
“We therefore request you to use your good offices and leadership position to urgently take steps to stop and prevent the holding of the TUC Conference in harmony with the Court Order as the Claimants who are also affiliate members of TUC will not fold its hand [sic] and allow the conference to hold. [His emphasis]
“It is a settled principle of law that every party to a suit, and indeed every citizen, has an obligation to obey the subsisting Court decision or order in a suit unless and until it is set aside. So long as the order exists, it must be obeyed to the letter. An order or a judgment of court, remains legally binding and valid until set aside by due process of law.
“Your esteemed office, like all citizens of this country, cannot be a passive on-looker when any person attempts to subvert the administration of justice and should not hesitate to use the powers available to it to preserve [sic] the breakdown of law and order in the society.
“Obedience to the rule of law by all citizens but more particularly those who publicly took oath of office to protest and preserve the constitution is a desideratum to good governance and respect for the rule of law. In a democratic society, this is meant to be a norm. we urge you to act in this regard sir.
“We therefore urge you to immediately stop TUC from going ahead with the 12th Triennial Delegates Conference set to take place on the 19th and 20th July, 2022 as you will be acting in the public interest and also avert major national crisis within the labour circle.
“We hope the above will help guide your actions in immediately compelling and mandating the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria to obey the Court Order,” the petitioners pleaded with the IGP.
A highly placed source at the TUC had on Sunday afternoon confirmed to National Record that the TUC was actually going ahead with the conference.
When asked why the labour centre was deliberately going ahead to disobey the order, the source revealed that the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSN) had obtained an order granting TUC the power to proceed with the conference.
Although the source promised to forward the order to National Record “within 30 minutes,” the order never came as at press time.
We’ve Order Giving Us the Go-Ahead to Hold Conference – TUC President
When contacted, Comrade Quadri Olaleye, TUC President, confirmed there is an order granting the TUC the go-ahead to hold the conference. He however said the labour centre was doing everything to resolve the matter using its internal conflict resolution mechanism.
When asked Sunday afternoon if he was aware of the court injunction as well as the petition written to the IGP, Comrade Olaleye said: “My simple response is that the trade unions took the TUC to court for reasons best known to them and we’ve been trying to resolve the issue.
“We had a NAC meeting some days ago which we also had the presence of the two unions that have these suits with the TUC at different courts…and we unanimously agreed that the two unions, PENGASSAN and ASSBIFI, should withdraw the case from the courts and let’s allow the due process of the union as specified in our constitution to decide, so they were mandated to withdraw the case from the court.
“If they have now implemented that mandate given by NAC, I wouldn’t know. But as far as we are concerned, we have asked the two of them to withdraw it, let’s use our internal machinery as specified in the constitution and none of them objected to that; and so we are still in discussion even up till 9pm yesterday (Saturday) using internal machinery to resolve the issue.”
Comrade Olaleye said the TUC is a law abiding labour centre and will therefore not violate a court order but said since there are two different injunctions, the TUC leadership has received legal advice from its legal team urging it to continue with the internal processes.
“TUC is a law abiding labour centre; we will not violate any law but like you have the information, we have two different injunctions and we have consulted with our legal team who has advised us what to do, to continue with the internal processes. So I am not losing hope that even before the delegates conference that we are not going to resolve the issue since the purpose of the court is to bring peace to the country. You know, also internal machineries are also allowed in alternative dispute resolution method,” Comrade Olaleye said.
When asked if he could avail National Record a copy of the court injunction obtained by PENGASSAN, the TUC President replied: “You can call Ken, Ken should be able to provide you with the second injunction.”
However, efforts to get Ken (Comrade Kenneth Mokwenye), who is TUC’s Head of Information, failed as calls to his mobile number rang out while an inquiry message sent to him was not replied as at press time.
It is a Lie, Where’s the Order? – ASSBIFI President
Comrade (Mrs) Oyinkan Olasanoye, President of ASSBIFI, who is also Deputy President of TUC, when contacted Sunday evening and asked if the issue has been resolved as indicated by Comrade Olaleye, the TUC President, she categorically dismissed the claim as a lie.
“Nothing has been resolved, he is lying. I was in the meeting; he [Comrade Olaleye] called a meeting on Wednesday [July 13, 2022] and said there is an injunction from us and one from PENGASSAN and that because of that, the two of us should go and withdraw the case and that elections should go ahead. I said I’m a law-abiding citizen, that I will not be in court, that the court gave an order and we said no. Ask him to give you a copy of whatever he said was the order,” Mrs Olasanoye said.
When told that Comrade Olaleye had promised National Record that somebody was going to send it a copy, the ASSBIFI President again emphatically dismissed it, saying: “Nobody will send it to you, nobody has sighted it. We have sent our lawyer to court in Abuja, nothing has been sighted, do you get me? We are law-abiding citizens. He told us since Wednesday that there is something in court and up till now he has not been able to provide it.
“Let me give you another information; if you read the court injunction, we sued only the TUC for interpretation but PENGASSAN personally wrote to the court that it is joining in the matter, so they brought their own lawyer to court to be joined in the matter and the judge said now, the three of you are here, hold your peace until 18th of July, which has been changed to 19th. Now, you are now saying somebody went to another court to get an injunction. Where is the injunction?
“This person who they said has obtained injunction was there when the court said hold your peace, does that person has the right to leave that court and go to another court to look for another injunction? The ten unions sued TUC, TUC came to court with their lawyer and PENGASSAN lawyer appeared in court to say, we have interest in this case; can we join it? So the three of us were already in court, is that not? And in the presence of the three lawyers, the judge gave that directive! After she [the judge] had said that, you are now saying that there is another court injunction; where is it?
“He [Olaleye] told us that it is from NIC headquarters in Abuja, but where is it [order]? We have been asking since last Wednesday, today is Sunday. It is when we can’t find it that we said the three of us were there when the judge gave the instruction. So none of us has the right to now leave that court and run to another court, if indeed it is true, that is what is called justice shopping. The judge gave the instruction when he also gave the order, that was July 6th [2022].
“The judge gave her word that she will rule on the matter on or before 29th of July but that the arguments will start from 18th of July. It would have been TUC and the ten unions but the PENGASSAN lawyer voluntarily, on their part, came that they are interested in the matter and pleaded with the judge to be joined.
“The judge now said okay, it is PENGASSAN that has interest in the matter and now that the three of you are here, go and hold your peace, I promise you people, I know the value of union, I will make my ruling, I know court will go on recess but I will make my ruling before July 29, so let all of you come back on 18th July with your whatever and come argue your case.
“When the judge said this on the 6th, Olaleye now called a meeting on the 13th and said we are going ahead because there is another injunction from another court, and since that 13th when we asked him to bring the so-called order, he can’t bring it out.
“Our lawyer has been to NIC headquarters in Abuja, because he [Olaleye] specifically told us the so-called order is from NIC headquarters in Abuja, and since that Wednesday, he [the lawyer] has gone round, from the Registrar to all the court officials and other places, but there is no order. Rather, it is the application of PENGASSAN to be party to our case that is in Lagos NIC. So, let him bring it out.”
Report Anything You Want to Report – PENGASSAN President
In a telephone conversation with Comrade Festus Osifo, the President of PENGASSAN, also on Sunday evening, the issue of a new court order was still a mystery.
While Comrade Osifo claimed that PENGASSAN went to the Abuja division of the NIC the same day that ASSBIFI and the other unions filed an ex parte motion at the Lagos division of the same court, his explanation on why his union had asked the Lagos court to join it was vague.
According to Comrade Osifo, PENGASSAN’s order was obtained on July 7 in Abuja, a day after Justice Gwandu had restrained the TUC from holding its conference.
When National Record asked if it could be availed a copy of the order, the PENGASSAN President said: “Aah, eeh, okay, eem, weee, I don’t know, eeeh; I have not actually, we have not actually sent out the order, so we were, our plan was to do that on Tuesday morning. Let me discuss that with my guys. I have not actually sent it out, you understand, but we have an order from the Abuja court. You know, again, orders are public documents, so I don’t have problem making it available… Okay, no problem, but I will talk to my colleagues, when I have the go-ahead I will forward it to you, no problem.”
Asked why PENGASSAN had asked to be joined in the case at the NIC in Lagos if it had already filed a suit at Abuja, Comrade Osifo went into an unwieldly explanation. When told that National Record had been emphatically told that there was no court order granting the TUC the go-ahead to hold the conference, and that it will be better to have a copy so as to dispel any doubt and balance the report, Comrade Osifo got obviously angry and told this reporter: “okay, report anything you want to report, go ahead, no problem, thank you, goodnight!”