Chairman of the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN), Comrade Ayuba Philibus Wabba, has defeated the National Secretary of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), Comrade Joe Ajaero, to emerge as the National President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). 

 

Ajaero has however rejected the results and election outcome, backed by his union. He said the elections were not transparent.

Wabba clinched 1,695 votes of the total 3,115 votes cast, as against 1,140 by Ajaero. 3,119 delegates from the 43  affiliate unions of the NLC were accredited for the poll which was held in Abuja under tight security.

 

The results were announced yesterday morning by the returning officer, Comrade Dangiwar Aliyu, who is also the pioneer General Secretary of NLC; following an election process which lasted almost 48 hours, starting from Thursday morning at the Eagle square in Abuja.  It should be recalled that the conference was re-convened for the elections to be concluded following disruptions at the initial 11th Delegate Conference in February.

 

 

Five contestants slugged it out for the three positions of Deputy President, including Comrades Issa Aremu (NLC Vice President), Igwe Achese (NUPENG President) Peters Adeyemi (NASU General Secretary) Nasim Yajeem (President NURTW) and Kiri Mohammed (Deputy President NLC).

 

At the end of the exhaustive process, the trio of Adeyemi, Najeem and Kiri clinched more votes to emerge as Deputy Presidents of the NLC.

 

The new NLC President, Wabba takes over from Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar. He was born on October 22, 1968. A native of Askira Uba Local Government in Borno State, Wabba attended the School of Health Technology, Maiduguri and the Imo State University. He also underwent several courses at the Beeshiba Institute of Peace and Development, Israel; Royal Institute of Public Administrators, London, UK; Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania, USA, and the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos in Plateau State.

 

He holds honorary doctorate degrees from the Western Pacific University, Colorado, USA and the Common Wealth University, Belize.

Meanwhile the NLC has cautioned some individuals driven by inordinate ambition against factionalising the movement, saying the congress is bigger than each individual.

 

By Damilola Oyedele