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Liberalisation
is to strengthen NLC, says Ndoma-Egba
By Bassey Inyang
Correspondent, Calabar
The
Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) would emerge stronger through the planned
liberalisation of the labour movement in Nigeria, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba
(SAN), has said.
Ndoma-Egba
said at the weekend in Calabar that the NLC has not been proscribed as a result
of the passage of the labour bill, adding that the NLC would come out stronger
as a result of its liberalisation.
He
said he would not pitch his tent with those who think that liberalising the
labour movement could succeed only when the NLC is proscribed, stressing that
while other labour centres should be allowed to emerge, the central labour
movement could remain.
Ndoma-Egba
said labour must be liberalised because it could not be isolated from the
current policy of liberalisation as practiced in Nigeria.
�I
believe that labour, like the rest of the polity should be liberalised. What I
do not agree with is that to achieve that liberalisation you need to proscribe
NLC. I do not agree to that. NLC can remain but others should also be given the
opportunity to emerge. NLC was not proscribed in the bill that the senate
passed,� Ndoma-Egbaexplained.
He
said it was quite unfortunate that the absence of a viable and strong
opposition political parties has givenway to the indulgence of the NLC in
matters that ordinarily should not concern it, stressing that by allowing the
NLC to play the role of opposition, the nation is surely wasting a golden
opportunity.
But
he said as a PDP member, it would be absurd for the party in power to create an
opposition for itself. The senator also called for the convocation of a conference
of ethnic nationalities to discuss the way forward for Nigeria because, as he
put it, �we still have structural problems have resulted in the malfunctioning
of the Nigerian nation, maintaining that the round table discussion of the
future of Nigeria is inevitable.
�As
far as I am concern, that is inevitable. No matter how we delay It, a day will
come when we as Nigerians,not on the basis of senate or federal house of
representatives constituencies, but on the basis of nationality will sit down
and discuss Nigeria. That way Nigeria will come out a stronger and more
efficient nation,� the SAN noted.
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