IMO NULGE leadership Is Intact – Njoku

recent local media reports, that Imo State leadership of Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees ( NULGE) has been nullified by an Industrial Court, Comrade Ebem Njoku has described the publication as “misleading falsehood” noting that the union being led by Comrade Richard Eze is still intact and no court in Nigeria or any where in the world has truncated the leadership.

Njoku who is the state Public Relations officer of the union stated this in a one page  Press Release dated Wednesday 12th August, 2020 which he endorsed and issued to Journalists in Owerri further appealed to the general public to disregard the publication.

According to him “to say the least, the publication is malicious, misleading and highly provocative. There is no modicum of truth in the said publication. It could best be described as a concoction from the figment or imagination of the minds of the wicked purveyors of the deliberate falsehood” he insisted.

 He pointed out that “What happened was that the Kaduna Division of the National Industrial Court gave a judgement on the 2/7/2020, reaffirming the judgment of the Owerri Division of the NICN in suit no. NICN/OW./36/2018 delivered on July 11, 2019 which nullified the tenure elongation enjoyed or being enjoyed by some Officers of the Union as promulgated by the Special National Delegates’ Conference in Akure, Ondo State in 2016.

 Delivering its judgment on the legal contentions submitted by the parties, the Kaduna Court said since the Owerri Division of its coordinate jurisdiction had given the judgment on the same issues submitted for the resolution of the Court by the parties to the suit, it lacked the powers to sit on appeal on the judgment hence it affirmed same. It said that only a higher Court like the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court could review it and not it as the parties wanted it to so do.

But before then, the Kaduna branch of our great Union had conducted its State Delegate Conference(SDC), making the matter a fait accompli before the said judgment” he stated.

He allegedly recalled that having failed in their inordinate ambition to install their illegal Caretaker Committees as was never directed by the Court, the Ekeanyanwu group went back to the same Owerri Division of the National Industrial Court, praying it in the suit no. NICN/OW./66/2019, to amongst other prayers, to make a “definite order on the removal of our National Officers” but on 6/2/2020, after carefully listening to the various arguments canvased by the learned Counsel to the parties, the learned counsel,Justice S. I. Galadima (who gave the earlier judgment that ordered the election of the Imo State branch of NULGE), struck out the suit for being an abuse of court processes and rather directed any aggreived party to proceed to the Court of Appeal.

The Public Relations Officer further said that as at now, the matter is still pending at the Court of Appeal, Owerri Division where the same Claimants  (now Appellants) are praying the Honourable Court to grant them the leave to appeal against the said Owerri judgment.

He noted that “It is trite law that since parties to the matter have joined issues, the law forbids everyone from resorting to self help. Everyone is therefore, expected to wait for the eventual outcome of the the Appeal Court proceedings as the Court would please. To do otherwise, would amount to contempt of  the court” he insisted.

Njoku also informed that, at no time did the Court order for the institution of any Caretaker Committee at any levelinsisting that the Court only directed the Imo State branch of the Union to conduct its election within one month from the date of the delivery of the said judgment. 

The order he said has been fully complied with and transparent, free and fair elections conducted in all the 27 LGA Branches and the Imo State Branch of the Union saying that the State Delegates’ Conference was conducted in line with the NULGE Constitution and at the Labour House, Owerri as directed by the Court and monitored by the officials of the State NLC and TUC, all Security Agencies from the Police, NSCDC, DSS and others.

The PRO lamented that it is on record that most of the people now masquerading as members of the opposition and allegedly  spreading the latest falsehood in order to hoodwink the unsuspecting members of the public also participated at both the LGA and State level elections but have resorted to be used as agents of destabilization when they failed to win  at the said elections.

He equally expressed dismay that since then, they have been leaving no stone unturned in their alleged selfish bid to forcefully take over the leadership of the Union from the backdoor. While advising them on the need to exercise patience and wait for the next election as power comes from God he observed that from the above narratives, the leadership of the Union at the national level as being led by Comrade Alhaji Ibrahim Khaleel and the Imo State branch led by Comrade Pastor (Dr.)Richard Eze are fully intact, unshaken and legally discharging the duties of the Union as the lawfully elected leaders of the Union.

Njoku passionately advised the general public to disregard the said vexatious, unfounded and misleading publication in its entirety.