No fewer than 15 affiliate unions of the Edo council of the Nigeria Labour Congress have dissociated themselves from the process that produced Odion Olaye as chairman of the council. In a jointly signed press release issued to journalists on Sunday in Benin, the unions said the purported delegate conference held on 7 March 2023 was illegal and contravened a pending matter before the National Industrial Court in Abuja. They argued that the conference violated the NLC constitution.
The unions explained that they had protested, via a petition dated 28 February 2023, to the national secretariat through the General Secretary. The petition complained about the overbearing, intimidating, and bullying attitude of Olaye, who allegedly invaded a State Executive Council meeting with thugs, disrupted the composition of the Screening Committee, and interfered with the ratification of delegate nominations for the state conference as required by Articles 11(2)(vi) and 29(4) of the amended NLC constitution.
To prevent the alleged illegality, the unions filed a suit at the National Industrial Court, Abuja, alleging a breach of the constitutional provisions governing NLC state conferences and elections. Despite the court process being served on the National Secretariat, the President, and the Secretary‑General of the NLC—who are parties to the suit—the election proceeded in defiance of the pending matter.
The protesting affiliates also claimed that the state government interfered in the election, openly supporting Olaye, who is a member and leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State. They alleged that workers in the public sector were intimidated, harassed, and threatened with posting to rural areas or outright dismissal if they failed to declare support for Olaye. At the state conference, which should have been an exclusive NLC affair, PDP candidates for the House of Assembly were brought in to campaign. The unions warned that, had the delegates not refused, the conference could have turned into a PDP political rally.
Pandemonium broke out at the conference when it was announced that one of the chairmanship aspirants had been disqualified. The Returning Officer’s refusal to entertain questions about the disqualification led to violence, with thugs attacking delegates. Over 90 percent of the delegates and representatives of 15 unions fled the venue for safety.
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