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By Chukwuma Umeorah
The leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) yesterday warned the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Rabiu Yadudu, to desist from misinforming the public on actions taken by the Congress to address issues of national interests as it concerns workers.
This warning was issued following Yadudu’s condemnation of the picketing exercise on Murtala Muhammed International Airport, (MMA), Lagos by some of-ficials of NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) which action he described as illegal, a mob action and a “massage of ego”.
NLC and TUC had embarked on strike action against Imo state government recently, but extended their industrial action to Lagos and Abuja airports, where they stopped flights to Owerri and other destinations in the country, especially the operations of Air Peace, which claimed it lost over N700 million in revenue.
Yadudu, who challenged the action of NLC and TUC that disrupted flying and some other aviation activities, Wednesday last week, said that such a dastardly act would no longer be tolerated in the sector. However, his comments did not seat well with the leadership of both Labour centres as the NLC in a statement issued on Monday claimed that Yadudu’s submission was a deliberate attempt to misinform the public and undermine the efforts of the NLC and TUC at addressing workers concerns.
According to NLC’s Head of Information and Public Affair, Benson Upah, “Yadudu could not cite any authority that outlawed the picketing exercise as he made the bogus assertions.”
Upah further refuted the claim that the picketing was done for personal interests rather than national interest, describing it as an unfounded and unfortunate accusation by the aviation boss.
“We advise Yadudu to remain quiet instead of misinforming the public about what happened. Under his watch, the aviation sector had witnessed the highest number of shutdowns and pickets.”
“Coming to the fact in issue, it is public knowledge that there are issues in Imo State. It is equally true that our credo is, ‘an injury to one is an injury to all’. So clearly, he is not being truthful.”
He said that Yadudu seized the role of the judiciary by declaring the picketing action as “illegal”.
Upah stressed that Yadudu in delivering his faulty judgement missed the fact and the law, the fact being that only an insignificant population of Nigeria fly and not all Nigerians as he claimed. This is even as he explained that major airports across the world had been picketed and suffered service withdrawals.
“On where he missed the law, he should ask his lawyer as we would not oblige him this information on the pages of newspapers.”
The statement also emphasized that neither FAAN nor Yadudu had the legitimate authority to order the NLC and TUC to keep away from activities of the aviation industry.
“As for Yadudu’s order to the NLC and TUC to steer clear of aviation activities, we consider it as nugatory as such powers do not reside with him in the first place. Similarly, his attempt to put a wedge between the sector unions and the NLC and TUC will go to no issue.”
“The NLC however urges Yadudu to refrain from misinforming the public but rather to channel more of his efforts at effectively managing the resources of FAAN to the growth of the sector and to country,” The statement added.
