Judex Okoro, Calabar
Fresh crisis is brewing in the Cross River State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) following a controversial state congress conducted last week to select new leadership for the union.
The crisis follows a rejection of the exercise and a call for outright cancellation by a number of affiliate unions which alleged that the elections were fraught with irregularities and failed to meet the basic tenets of a free and fair exercise.
Speaking to newsmen on behalf of other affiliated unions in Calabar, Nigerian Union of Teachers Chairman in the state, Eyo Nsa Itam, said the elections cannot stand the test of time because of irregularities that dogged the exercise.
He alleged among other irregularities that the number of voters exceeded the number of accredited voters, the venue of the exercise was not made known to delegates in time and also unaccredited unions and persons participated in the exercise.
“By our statistics, the total number of accredited delegates for the congress was 398. Out of this, 28 delegates left due to delays without voting thus reducing the total number of votes expected to be cast to about 376.
“However, at the end of the elections, it was discovered that from the chairman to the state ex-officio, that the total votes cast was more than the number of accredited delegates. For instance, for the chairman, 408 votes were recorded and out of that, the total number of delegates would have been 376 that voted and you can see the margin,” he said.