The Honourable Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu has advised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to obey Court ruling over the unionization of workers in the Commission.
The Minister gave the advice in Abuja today while receiving in audience the Executive of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria led by its President, Comrade Olakunle Olaitan who paid him a courtesy visit .
His advice was in reaction to the reported refusal of INEC to allow its workers to be unionized in spite of the National Industrial Court’s ruling and the provisions of the Section 40 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Chief Wogu asserted that the mantra of the present Administration is respect for the rule of law and given that the judgment of NIC has not been vacated nor appealed against by INEC, the only option for the Commission is to obey the ruling.
In amplifying this position the Minister stated that “every Nigerian has a right to association and to belong to a trade union of his choice subject to extant regulations”
The Minister praised the union for embracing the shift from adversarial labour relations as all issues can be resolved through social dialogue.
“Your visit has actually given credence to the paradigm shift being advocated by the Ministry, we are moving out from the adversarial labour/government relationship to a win-win situation guided by the extant laws”. Chief Wogu appraised.
The President of ASCSN, Comrade Olakunle Olaitan in his remarks appealed to the Minister to assist the union and ensure that the Commission opens its doors to enable the workers exercise their right.
“You can at least help to assist us with your good offices to advise INEC to open their doors for us to unionize their workers”, He appealed.
INEC Chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega served as national president of Academic Staff Union of Universities,ASUU during the military era.
