Ngige, pensioners trade words‎ over union crisis

Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige on Thursday denied his ministry was behind the crisis within the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), Electricity sector.
The minister was reacting to allegation by the NUP, Electricity sector, that he was pressurising the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) to stop payment of Check-off dues to pension headquarters.

Abel Eikhor, Chairman Caretaker committee of union had on Thursday at a news briefing in Abuja accused the minister of undermining the law by giving directives to various agencies to “reverse the irreversible”.
Eikhor said the NUP National Headquarters was recognised as the Registered Trade Union to which the sector was an affiliate and recognised to receive remittances of check off dues.
He alleged that the former Chairman of the sector, Temple Ubani, had written to the minister of labour requesting that PTAD be called to order and reverse remittances of check off dues to his account.

”Unfortunately, the minister is undermining the law by giving directives to various agencies to reverse the irreversible.

“The law is sacrosanct in this regard, PTAD is not under the ministry of labour so the minister should be guided,” he said.
He noted that the former chairman of the electricity sector had pulled out of the Union and formed his own association known as Electricity sector Retirees Deputies Welfare Association (ESREWA).

But Ngige insisted the ministry had nothing to do with Ubani or the association.
”I have never talked to PTAD on this issue, I will only write PTAD if there is an issue for clarification,” the minister said.
Ngige noted that the NUP was the only registered Union for pensioners and it had under it different sectors.
According to him, other sub unit within the pension union had applied for recognition and registration, as the NUP had grown big that it could no longer take care of them.
He said the law does not stop anybody from forming sub group and that the law permited the minister to do a regrouping of union when the ministry feels their membership cannot be taken care off.