UTQEN: Delta State Chapter Refutes National Body's Allegations

 

* Calls Upon Ministry Of Labour To Intervene, To Prevent Further Crisis

Okonta Emeka Okelum, Asaba

The Delta state chapter, Union of Tipper & Quarry Employers of Nigeria (UTQEN) has in strong terms refuted all recent allegations of the National body against them as was published in an online media platform.

Speaking exclusively to Asaba Post News Wire Online, after their monthly meeting, Comrade Dumebi Eluaka, UTQEN's Delta State Chairman, in company of his state and local government area chapter executives, shared their own side of the story.

The union's national president, Comrade Aliu Mayungbe, had recently gone online to accuse the state chapter on various charges of fraud, irregularities, tenure elongation and other unprintable charges.

Comrade Eluaka in this exclusive media chat shared with our reporter his views and corrected some perceived wrong impressions made by the union's national president to online media practioners.

Speaking on tenure elongation, Comrade Eluaka accepted that his first term in office had elapsed, but as enshrined in the union's constitution, he maintained that he is entitled to a second term, but noted that the union's national president is handling this matter in a grossly unconstitutional manner.

For this reason, Comrade Eluaka is calling upon the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, to intervention into the lingering issues and crisis between the union's national body and the Delta State Chapter of the union, to avoid further and deeper crisis, or better still close down the union completely nation wide, to avoid unpalatable stories springing up here and there in the state chapter.

Comrade Eluaka said how the national president is going about issues concerning his term in office is completely wrong and unconstitutional.

According to our union's constitution, if a state chairman's term is over, a caretaker committee will be appointed from the leadership of all local government area chapters, who will manage the affairs of the state chapter till elections are conducted for new state executives to emerge.

Bringing in men and women, who are not qualified union members to disrupt the union's affairs in Delta State is grossly unacceptable.

UTQEN is open only to business men and women, who own tippers or quarry sites, it is not a union for contractors, native doctors or rascals Comrade Eluaka pointed out.

To this end, he pointed out that the national president is not fit and proper to be in the union, were it not that his tribesmen, who dominated the union, who imposed him into the union, if not, how can a mere tailor become the national president of owners of tippers and quarry site owners.

The national president does not owe any tipper nor a quarry site, even in his local government area, there are no quarry activities going on there, Comrade Eluaka told our reporter.

He noted that were it not for the professional intervention of  Nigerian Police and that of Department of State Security (DSS), the union in Delta State would had witnessed a lot of negative records and stories, he also appreciated the security agencies for their quick and professional intervention in the union's state chapter.

Comrade Eluaka also called upon all union members to remain calm, maintain peace as this lingering matter is already before an industrial court as counter action will amount to contempt of court actions.

Reacting to issues of fraud laid against the state chapter, Comrade Eluaka said, its the national president who is most fraudulent with the points below.

Constitutionally, its office of the elected general secretary, and manned by Hon Comrade Benjamin Okonkwo, who is supposed to sell and issue out the union's tickets, emblems and other official documents to state chapters upon payment into the union's national bank account, but here reverse is the case.

The national president issues these items personally and uses personal bank account instead of the national body's bank account to collect money from us.

It was after I had paid the sum of N840,000 into one personal bank account belonging to one Abdulmumn Ibrahim at Zenith Bank with bank account number 2001213061, I asked him, why giving us a private bank account, there after, he gave me the national body's bank account at zenith bank with bank number 1014635031, and stated that he is sorry.

For over four years now, the national president and national treasurer had prevented the national auditor from carrying out an audit assessment of the union's account, all because they don't want their fraudulent acts to be exposed.

That the national president sidelined South East and South South trustees of the union out of all happenings in the union, calls for serious attention, Comrade Eluaka said.

Just because, I demanded for a refund of N7 Million, I spent on the legal battle between our state chapter and National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), a legal battle, the national president personally approved that we should  embarked upon, hence, all these allegations are now springing up here and there.

We are law abiding citizens and quarry business owners, as such, we went to court, to have them interpret our union's constitution better for us.

On the state of his 13 state exco members, Comrade Eluaka note that because the union is a new one and had not started rolling in funds like that of the National Union Of Road Transport Workers (NURTW)/and that at this stage requires a lot of patience, commitment and sacrifices to build and strengthen the union, not all my state executives have such energy and for some because not much is flowing into the state chapter, when they are invited to meetings, some fall back to their businesses.

At any rate, whenever, we call for meetings, we still have enough state executives as to form quorum, Comrade Eluaka pointed out.

He also pointed out that he at no point given out sack letter to any state executive member as such the case of him losing touch and steady meeting with his executive members does not hold waters.

I am shocked that the national president is supporting non union members to cause trouble in Delta State chapter, especially, Mr Paul Mozie, who is a mere contractor, who does not owe any tipper nor quarry site, he had being harassing our tipper drivers collecting illegal fees from them, for which, we said no to, I see no reasons for the national president to support such person who is not fit and proper to become our union member in the first place.

I don't know why Paul Mozie does not want to respect court verdict, which mandated that the already conducted state chapter elections must not be cancelled, Comrade Eluaka queried.

Comrade Eluaka ceased this media chat opportunity to urge Paul Mozie and his co travellers to respect court verdict and allow peace reign supreme in the union's delta state chapter.