Ayuba Wabba, a former President of the Nigerian Labour Congress, asserted that the Labour Party was established by the NLC to serve as a platform for its members to exercise and safeguard their rights.
Wabba said this on the Politics Today program on Channels Television, where he addressed the ongoing crisis between the union and the political party.
In a letter dated Tuesday, March 19, 2024, the NLC directed state councils and political commissions to stage protests at Labour Party headquarters nationwide, following a virtual meeting of the NLC National Political Commission and the leadership of the NLC State Councils and State Political Committees.
Addressing this, the former NLC president clarified that the party belonged to the NLC, in line with the major objective of the labour union.
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He said, “First and foremost, the Labour Party was formed by the NLC, in the realisation of a clear objective in the Constitution of the NLC. Under Article 3 and Item 1, the major objective of the NLC is to promote, defend and advance the economic, political, and social rights and well-being of Nigerian workers and pensioners.
“We own the Labour Party; it was formed under the leadership of Pascal Bafyau, as Party for Social Democracy. Under Adams, organs decided to change the name to the Labour Party, and the first chairman was S.O.Z Ejiofor who later handed over to Dan Anyanwu.
“So, the essence of forming the party is to make sure that workers, pensioners, farmers, can be able to have a platform to exercise their rights, which is enshrined in Section 40 of the Constitution. The party was formed by NLC, and registered by NLC. It’s like you built a house, you got a C-of-O, then you rented the apartment, so you must have an interest in how the property is managed.”
