House of Reps to Look Into Food Union Crisis, Refers Matter to Public Petitions C’ttee
THE House of Representatives is to look into the crisis that is rocking the National Union of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE) following the adoption of a petition from aggrieved members of the union.
The petition, addressed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, was presented at the House’s plenary on Tuesday, October 13, 2020 by Hon Prince Rotimi Agunsoye, member representing Kosofe Federal Constituency, Lagos, was adopted and referred to the House Committee on Public Petitions by the Speaker of the House, Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila.
A copy of the petition, obtained by National Record, and printed in the letterhead of a legal firm, Toyin Usman & Associates, entitled, “Petition by Against [sic] One Lateef Idowu Oyelekan the national president of National Union of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employees and a call on the National Assembly of Nigeria to Save Nigerian Junior Workers in the Food, Beverage and Tobacco employees Union,” raised several allegations against Comrade Lateef Idowu Oyelekan.
Dated 7th October, 2020 and signed by M. T. Usman, Esq., the petition accused Comrade Oyelekan of not only subverting the constitution of NUFBTE by illegally extending his tenure as National President along with that of many other elected national officers, but also of financial infractions through dubious appropriations.
Usman in concluding the petition, pleaded: “The members of the Union are presently helpless because Comrade Lateef Idowu Oyelekan has institutionalized himself deeply that he now has the advisory bodies such as the NLC, Trade Union Congress and the Registrar of Trade Unions in his pocket and it is only this National Assembly with its compassionate members with the welfare of Nigerians at heart that can come to the aid of the Union and its members by rescuing this already bad situation from being worse, should Lateef Oyelekan and his cohorts goes [sic] ahead to hold the emergency delegates conference and ratify the purported unconstitutional elongation of office.
“It is to this end that we are praying this revered Assembly under your able leadership sir, to please safe [sic] our client’s union and their years of service to industrial growths in Nigeria hard works.” [sic]
Efforts to speak to Comrade Oyelekan proved failed as calls to his mobile number did not go through. However, National Record gathered from a highly placed source at the national secretariat of the Food Union in Lagos that Comrade Oyelekan, the Acting General Secretary, Comrade Mike Olarenwaju, and other senior staff members at the secretariat as well as a few elected officials have already met and discussed the matter.
The source revealed that the sole strategy was to explore possible links with top APC chieftains in Lagos and Abuja to lobby lawmakers and neutralise any possible impact that the petition might generate.
To Read the full petition, click Petition from NUFBTE Aggrieved Members to House of Representatives
To watch the presentation of the petition here.
