NUPENG Ex-Chief Opposes NLC's Boycott of WoPU Inauguration

Williams Akporeha, the former national President of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and current National Coordinator General of Working People United (WoPU), opposed a directive from the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) that instructed its affiliate unions to boycott WoPU's inauguration. Akporeha described the directive as anti-democratic and a violation of workers' constitutional rights to freedom of association.

WoPU's statement, co-signed by General Secretary Moses Oladapo, emphasized that the NLC's attempt to dictate political affiliations undermines the rights guaranteed under Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution and International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions 87 and 98. The group asserted that it is not a parallel labor organization but a political movement aimed at mobilizing support for President Bola Tinubu's re-election under the Renewed Hope Agenda.

The NLC's directive was issued in response to the planned inauguration of WoPU's Lagos State chapter, which was scheduled for last Wednesday.