By Appolos Christian
The lasting peace which has over the years engendered progress in the business of welfare providence of the members of National Union of Foods, Beverages and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE), seems to be under threat as their National President, Comrade Lateef Oyelekan, purportedly extended his tenure for another two years; after 12 years in office.
Against a court injunction, Oyelekan-led leadership of the union organized an emergency delegate conference, and extended his tenure in office to two years.
Suit no. NICN/LA/189/2020 filed at the National Industrial Court Lagos, detailed that aggrieved members of NUFBTE, had approached the Court to seek for an order of interlocutory injunction to stop the union’s president and 18 others from conducting a planned emergency delegates conference.
On 19 August, 2020, the National Industrial Court, Lagos Judicial Division granted the prayer of the aggrieved members and gave an order of interlocutory injunction against the proposed emergency delegates conference until a substantive suit bothering on the violation of the union’s constitution was resolved.
Accordingly, Justice . I. J. Essien, who granted the order said: “The two prayers sought in the motion papers are granted as follows: An order of interlocutory injunction is hereby granted restraining the 1st to 18th Defendants/Respondents and all other officers of the 18th Defendants from conducting or holding the planned Emergency Delegates Conference now schedule for 21th August,2020, the agenda being to ratify the illegal and unconstitutional decision by the 1st to 17th Defendants to postpone the period for conduct of elections into all elective offices contrary to the provisions of the Constitution of the 18th Defendant, pending the hearing and determination of this suit.
“An order of interlocutory injunction is hereby granted restraining the 1st to 18th Defendants from ratifying or giving effect to the purported resolution passed at the National Executive Council meeting of the 18th Defendant on the 4 th day February, 2019… extending and or postponing the period for conduct of Elections into various elective positions/all structures of the 18th Defendant and extending and or elongating the tenure of office of elected officers of the Union by a period of two years beyond the tenure/ period constitutionally provided and contrary to the Constitution of the Union, pending the hearing and determination of this suit.”
Speaking to journalists in Abuja on the issues, the National Signing Trustee of NUFBTE, Comrade Peter Onoja and Comrade Bamidele Busari, who respectively emerged factional President and General Secretary, of the union explained; “Now we have two factions in the NUFBTE, I am the President of one of the factions. I am the former National Signing Trustee of the union. Our President has served four years as deputy president, 12 years as president, making a total of 16 years.
“Our constitution has no tenure limit, you can contest as many times, but the constitution makes it clear that every four years, you must have elections. This year is our conference year and the president wanted to do an emergency delegates conference and the subject matter is only one agenda, tenure elongation. That he wants to elongate his tenure for two years.
“So, some of us feel bad that if the constitution says every four years you must hold election, even if you want to contest, hold election, if you win everybody will support you legitimately. But he refused; so we approached the National Industrial Court and on 19 August the National Industrial Court give interlocutory injunction that no emergency conference should hold until the determination of the case.”
Onaja further said many of the union members were surprised to see that on the night of 20 August, they went ahead to hold “a kangaroo emergency conference and came out in the morning to write a letter that some of us are suspended.”
He also said that over 25 branches of the union have written to the general secretary and passed vote of no confidence on his leadership, saying that his tenure has since expired in January this year. And have also written several letters to the Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, adding, “we are begging Nigerians to come to our aid in Food Union because the place has become a one-man business and he does things without recourse to constitution.”
In reaction, the acting General Secretary of Oyenekan faction said the union leadership was not properly served the court injunction, saying, “our union is still intact, it is only that some people were trying to portray it so. Our union is not in crisis. Our union is guided by our constitution and we have been following the dictate of that constitution meticulously without division.
“Our president is at the end of his third tenure. When he was elected, our union was nowhere, no progress, but with commitment and dedication, he made sure he diversified our union in terms of investments. Established so many investments like hotels and water factories.”
On the tenure elongation against the union’s constitution, he said, “Yes, it is not clearly stated in our constitution that there can be extension like that, fine, but there is no constitution in the world that is completely perfect. That is why, when there was a situation and exigences, like it happened in Nigeria during President Yar’ Adua crisis, the doctrine of necessity was evoked.”
He also said that the tenure extension passed through due process – the National Executive Council, National Administrative Council and the emergency delegates conference- adding that the action taken was based on the advice by their lawyer, whom he said left the court in anger due to the attitude of the judge.
“We were not served with court injunction, nobody served us. You can find out at law court, injunction of that nature has to be served. We were not served anything, there was nothing stopping us and we decided to hold the conference.” He, said.
He, however, challenged the other faction to go to court, saying that they were ready to abide by the judgment of the court if a court of competent jurisdiction now declared the delegate conference and the tenure extension null and void.
