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B N W: Biafra Nigeria World News |
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Labour Bill, National Assembly and the PDP Guillotine
Observers of events in the National Assembly may no longer have to scratch their heads before predicting the outcome of any issue that appears before the lawmakers especially in the senate. As a matter of fact, the chamber has consistently demonstrated that the only thin layer of difference between it and any other department of the Executive is the presence of the Mace, the symbol of democracy. If only the Mace could talk, Nigerians would have felt the pains and the groans of this innocent but desecrated insignia.
When the Trade Union Amendment bill was sent to the National Assembly, Nigerians, judging from the antecedent of the upper chamber, knew that the only resistance to the calculated attempt to silence the vocal Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) would come from the House of Representatives and events of last week confirmed their position.
The abracadabra that had been playing out in the Senate since the bill was introduced last month came to a predictable end with the Senators endorsing the action of the Executive to nail the coffin of the NLC, and by extension consign Nigerian workers into a bottomless pit of slavery. Slavery because the bill passed by the senate makes it an act of sacrilege for any worker to talk of bargain or down tools when pushed to the wall.
The workers' welfare, going by the spirit and letter of the bill, is now subject to the whims and caprices of government. The first signal that the Senate would not disappoint fans was two weeks ago when the leadership avoided the NLC President, Comrade Adams Oshiomole like a plague when the latter sought to have audience with them. Then the guillotine of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP), prior to the "debate" on the bill in both Senate and the House of Representatives, the entire PDP machinery led by the national Chairman, Chief Audu Ogbeh, rolled to the National Assembly to intimidate the party's caucuses in both chambers. The import of that intimidation was that should the bill experience any bumps on the way to becoming an Act, the party would not hesitate to disrupt the lawmakers' ways to their constituencies.
With this type of intimidation, of course, the option was that any lawmaker that would succumb to the rhythm of conscience should avoid the chamber and that was exactly the situation in the Senate where the labour bill was rail-roaded by 35 senators. This is historic but whether history will be kind to them is an issue that will be determined by posterity. The implication of the action of the 35 senators could be further viewed from their oath of office and the daily prayers in the chamber which talk about justice for Nigerians and not for a few individuals.
In the House of Representatives, though the bill has been committed to an ad hoc committee, the steps taken so far have distinguished them from their colleagues in the Senate. Two days were devoted to a robust debate on the bill. As a matter of fact, the leadership of the House, right from last Tuesday, when a comprehensive debate began, evinced clearly that the wish of the floor would determine the direction of the bill.
To lay a solid foundation for a healthy debate, the deputy Speaker, Austin Opara, who presided, made a speech that further catapulted his integrity before his colleagues. "My dear colleagues, I want to assure you that the leadership has no other special interest in the bill besides ensuring that the wishes of our people whom we represent here are captured and that will form the basis for our decision on this bill. Every member will be given opportunity to speak on this bill because of its sensitive nature. A lot of things have been said about it and Nigerians and the world are waiting", he remarked.
Opara's introductory remark appeased like a balm as hitherto agitated members exhibited calm and candour in their contributions.
All shades of opinion were reflected. But the second day of the debate (Wednesday) was a different ball game particularly from the PDP.
Perhaps not quite comfortable with the healthy nature of the debate, which allowed ample opportunity for all shades of opinion to be reflected, the PDP amoured tank driven by Ogbeh rocked into the gallery of the House of Representatives chamber.
In the tank also were political generals such as the national secretary of the party Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, the national Vice Chairman in the south east, Nze Fidelis Ozichukwu, the national vice chairman of the party in the south west, Olabode George, the national organising secretary, Inuwa Labaran and the national legal adviser, Yonana Madaki among others. Of course, the adviser to the president on National Assembly Matters, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa was on hand to see whether the bill was still breathing or it had given up the ghost. From the gallery, the PDP war commanders winked conspiratorially at every member making contribution, especially those of PDP extraction.
Despite this intimidation, the debate continued unshaken until members resolved to commit it to an ad hoc committee so that Nigerians and those interested in making input could be availed the opportunity to do so.
The chairman of the House committee on public affairs, Abike Dabiri said in order to ensure that Nigerians have confidence in the exercise, the composition of the ad hoc committee would be such that the major political parties in the House- PDP, All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP) and the Alliance for Democracy (AD) are adequately represented. She also hinted that the debate might even be extended to the six geo-political zones in order to ensure that Nigerians make their inputs. Basically, from the views expressed by the members in the course of the debate, the position is that democratisation of labour, yes, but not in a vindictive manner. The aggregate view was that NLC should not be de-registered; the discretionary power given to the minister of labour and productivity to determine which trade union should belong to the labour federation should be expunged and the clause outlawing industrial strike should be deleted.
The approach of the National Assembly to the labour bill has brought certain issues to the fore. The senate has shown that it is not the people that matter but personal political interests. The intimidation from the PDP, a party whose name epitomizes democracy is a study in irony.
While the nation awaits the decision of the House of Representatives, the question which begs for an answer as the lawmakers file in and out of their chambers, following the mace, is whether they believe in the symbol or that the oath is a charade.
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