Controversy rocks MWUN elections
… Petitioner labels outgoing PG, Nted, ineligible for re-election
Even before the first vote is cast, the election of those who will run the affairs of the crisis-ridden Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) for the next four years is already mired in controversy.
A motion to stop the elections all together and disqualify some candidates has already been filed in court and threats of violence during the vote continue to reverberate in the multi-billion naira industry.
The claimant, Comrade Ishola Adeshina Surajudeen, alleged in an affidavit at the National Industrial Court in the Lagos Judicial Division that the MWUN President-General, Mr. Anthony Emmanuel Nted, who is seeking re-election, is not qualified to run and should, therefore, step aside.
Surajudeen stated that all workers engaged in the maritime sector, excluding those in the professional and managerial cadre, are qualified to be member of the Union.
But, according to Surajudeen, Nted is the majority shareholder; Director and in the managerial cadre of a company known as Nted International Limited through which he claims membership of MWUN.
The claimant also alleged in court documents obtained by our correspondent that Nted, because of his position, cannot and has never defended the interests of maritime workers, especially during negotiations with the management of employers in the maritime industry because he is one of them.
The claimant submitted that the provision of the MWUN Constitution excluding persons in managerial cadre was to protect the interests of the workers in the industry.
When contacted, lawyer of the defendant, Mr. Bamidele Aturu, said that Nted is qualified to contest. Aturu said: “My position is that he is a bonafide member of the union and so he is qualified to run. But I will make my full position known when we are served. We have not been served.”
The elections into executive positions of MWUN are taking place in Abuja and the results were still expected at press time
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