A heavy security presence marked the events surrounding the inauguration of the caretaker committee for the Edo State chapter of the Nigerian Labour Congress on Thursday, with police sealing the secretariat.
Armed officers barricaded the Adams Oshiomhole Labour House, while patrol vehicles and an Armoured Personnel Carrier were stationed nearby.
Security was also tight at the University of Benin gate.
Originally scheduled to take place at the Labour House, the ceremony was first shifted to the Academic Staff Union of Universities secretariat on UNIBEN’s Ugbowo campus. It was later relocated again following reports that the venue had been disclosed to select labour leaders.
At the final venue, Professor Monday Igbafen was sworn in as chairman of the caretaker committee by NLC national officials led by Comrade Oluwole Sunday.
He charged the committee to resolve internal disputes and ensure the election of substantive executives. Igbafen also pledged to work towards uniting all factions within the Edo NLC.
The inauguration occurred despite a resolution passed by the Edo State House of Assembly on Tuesday, which urged the NLC to suspend the ceremony and continue collaborating with the interim leadership under Comrade Bernard Joman Egwakhide.
Some labour leaders from neighbouring states, who had gathered at the Labour House for the ceremony, expressed disappointment at being denied entry. Comrade Augustine Igben of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria said, “I was not allowed entry. There was a lot of security at the Labour House. This is a labour matter, and I believe the issues can be resolved internally.”
Meanwhile, several union members in Edo voiced reservations about the process, noting that they had expected more consultation and engagement before the caretaker leadership was inaugurated.