Members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), on Wednesday, booed their former President, Adams Oshiomhole at their 13th delegates conference in Abuja over his comment on minimum wage and strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities that paralysed academic activities for eight months.
Immediately Oshiomhole climbed the podium to address the members of the Congress who had gathered for the 13th National Delegates Conference, a voice shouted “Come down! Come down!” Then more members echoed ‘come down’.
As he struggled to calm the audience down, he said, “I am sure we are here as a labour movement. And whether you are representing or not, I have paid my dues and left it with you. I did not come here to say what I did not believe in. So, the fact that I am a member of a political party did not change who I am.”
Immediately the audience started shouting again: “You are fake! You are fake!! You have compromised!”
The former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress and former Governor of Edo State continued, saying, “I have listened to all their addresses and I appealed to the incoming president of NLC and its leadership, you have a huge, huge task ahead of you.”
The crowd interjected again “he knows!” Other voices echoed “he (Oshiomhole) is sympathetic with the incumbent President, he is not here for NLC. What is your business with NLC?”
But the former NLC president pressed on, saying, “Because as you purse it in waiting, if the massive economic environment is not right and you keep drifting to the right, devaluing of your wages will not go in the cause of living. Today N30,000 minimum wage a month is far less than N125,000 we wouldn’t achieved 20 years ago in real team.”
The crowd erupted again saying, “When you were there, what did you achieve? What is the one you have achieved?”
Oshiomhole pressed on, “And today even that N30,000 is not being paid by some state governments and you have NLC in every state.”
The NLC members interjected again, shouting, “What is he saying? In Edo State, you (Oshiomhole) didn’t pay minimum wage. Now what is he saying? He didn’t pay the civil servants in Edo State.”
However, the undeterred Oshiomhole continued by saying “you are making new changes…” but the shouting continued.
“The situation we are in now, students in schools spent six, seven years pursuing course of four years, it is not an act of God. You now have a good opportunity to interrogate those who want to govern how they will put an end to that,” he said and immediately he dropped the microphone, the audience booed him again, saying “go! go!”