COMRADE MIKE OKEME’S ANTI LABOUR CONDUCT IN DELTA STATE
The Delta State Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), under my leadership (Comrade Williams Akporeha) is contrained to bring to your notice the mischievous activities of Mr. Mike Okeme to malign the overall interest of labour movement in Delta state in favour of David Ofoyeno’s group.
Your Excellency, it is true that the leadership of the NLC at the national level is in two factions following the inappropriate conduct of the national delegates’ congress which has also affected the state congresses.
However, it is very absurd that while concerted efforts are being made to restore a united NLC at the national level, Mike Okeme, in his desperation has continued to deepen the crisis in Delta state by his unrelenting divisive and barefaced malicious sectionalism in favour of the David Ofoyeno group for his personal gains at the detriment of hoisting industrial unrest in the state.
Your Excellency, it is very astonishing to note that logistics support provided by the state government to facilitate the 2015 May Day activities and to facilitate state NLC Leadership attendance of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention in Geneva, Switzerland were all confiscated by Mike Okeme and shared to the David Ofoyeno’s group thereby depriving labour and other affiliate industrial unions in Delta state under my leadership from benefitting even though I was the one that formally applied.
We view his current activities as a dangerous trend and abuse of office that is capable of degenerating into practical expression of disaffection by majority of the NLC affiliate unions in the state over continuous deprivation being suffered as a result of the unrestrained behavior of Mike Okeme even when he is aware that David Ofoyeno does not clearly represent the interest of all workers in the state.
Your Excellency, we want to make it very clear that this notification is made in good faith as our contribution to enable government call Mike Okeme to order and stop him from rocking the boat of labour movement in Delta state so as not to strain the existing cordial relationship between labour and government in the state.
Clearly, activities of Comrade Mike Okeme with regards to Congress in Delta state can rightly be described as malicious as we know that a man who has served as state Chairman of NLC should be in the league of veterans looking for amicable solution to the NLC impasse or at best remain neutral if he lacks patriotism at that level.
Regrettably, it appears Okeme is an old fox in this trade of mindless fractionalization tactics to secure grandstanding on activities of labour movement in the state just to massage his ego and unimpressive personal interest.
We recall that in 2012, Okeme confiscated ten Hiace buses donated by government for the Labour Mass Transit Scheme in the state immediately after the anti fuel subsidy protests in 2011 as part of palliatives to assist workers in the state. Sadly, Mike Okeme who insisted that he was going to hand over the buses to labour for the purposes they were meant never did so. He converted all of them to his office use, inscribing on them, “Office of the Special Assistant to the Governor on Labour Matters”. He did not however hand any of the buses over to labour and my leadership till today.
In 2014, Mike Okeme also confiscated funds released by the state government to facilitate Labour Leader’s attendance of the 2014 International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention in Geneva, Switzerland.
Apart from the above, he had continued to sponsor confusion against Leadership of Congress to instigate fractionalization of labour movement in the state. In fact, in August 2014, the State Executive Council of the NLC declared Mike Okeme persona non grata due to his unwholesome activities against Congress and the state government was duly informed not to interface with Mike Okeme on labour matters as Congress no longer recognize him as representing the interest of labour movement in the state. The position of Congress on Mike Okeme remains unchanged till date.
We therefore strongly appeal for your intervention to call Mike Okeme to order and make him to immediately release all funds collected from government on behalf of labour to my group.
We trust and appreciate your earliest action on our appeal before more damage is visited on labour movement in Delta state.
Do accept the assurances of our highest regards and esteem.
Comrade Williams Akporeha
(Chairman, NLC, Delta State)
