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Senators threaten Wabara over Labour bill
Senators threaten Wabara over Labour bill
COSMAS EKPUNOBI,
Abuja
FRESH trouble is
brewing in the Senate as some aggrieved senators yesterday tasked Senate
President, Adolphus Wabara, to revisit the Trade Union Amendment Bill passed by
the chamber or face possible impeachment.
Leading the group is Senator Farouk Bello.
They alleged large-scale procedural irregularities in last week�s passage of the
controversial bill and vowed yesterday to challenge the decision in court.
One of their grievances is the alleged
lack of quorum in the passage of the bill to law.
But the Senate President, in a swift
reaction yesterday, insisted that the Senate followed due process in passing the
bill, adding that the issue of lack of quorum does not arise since 36 senators
were present in the chamber when the bill was passed.
Wabara, in a two-page statement signed by
his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Mr. Henry Ugbolue, said senators raised the
issue of quorum, or opposed series of voice votes that were taken on the floor
while the bill was being considered clause by clause."
"Even Senator Uche Chukwumerije who raised
issues about the speedy passage of the bill confirmed on the floor of the Senate
that due process was followed," Wabara said.
But, Senator Bello (ANPP) who said due
process was never observed in the passage of the bill, noted that the hasty
passage of the bill was "suspicious and a rape on democracy."
Bello, who is the vice-chairman, Senate
Committee on Banking, in a statement, which he later amplified in a telephone
interviewed with Daily Champion, said he is working with Senators of like
minds to drag the Senate to court to challenge the passage of the bill.
According to him, the Senate President
should cause a revisit to the bill or face impeachment.
"I am committed to working with my other
colleagues with like minds to either institute legal action in court to nullify
the purported passage of the bill in view of the high irregularities in the
process and/or commence an impeachment process against the current leadership,"
Bello said.
According to him, the current senate
leadership "must give way to a more credible one, if our hard-earned democracy
is to be saved."
"I therefore call on my colleagues to act
now or be acted upon," he said, claiming that majority of senators are full in
support of a vibrant labour and will it all that is necessary to guarantee its
survival," he warned.
According to him, the passage of the bill
as it were was against the wish of the majority of senators.
Apart from creating more labour centres,
aside the dominant Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the law outlawed strike in
some sectors it classified as critical.
These areas include higher institutions,
health and aviation.
In other areas, for strike to be called, a
simple majority of union members is required.
Banned by the law is the collection of
automatic check-off dues by trade unions.
Also, the Minister of Labour and
Productivity was empowered to use his discretion to register trade unions.
The provisions have been sorely criticised
by the NLC, civil society groups and others as anti-democratic.
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