Some civil servants and labour leaders in Niger State have expressed concern over an alleged clandestine plan to appoint the Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in the state, Idris Lafene as a Permanent Secretary despite his retirement from service earlier this year.
The NLC chairman has also been accused of holding onto his position as labour leader even after completing his mandatory years of service.
A labour leader in the state Comr. Nasir Abani alleged that the embattled chairman, who retired at the directorate level, has intensified lobbying to get an extension in order to qualify for elevation to the rank of Permanent Secretary.
According to the sources, the move is aimed at securing the position before formally resigning as NLC chairman and becoming eligible for perks for permanent secretaries.
The development, they argue, would amount to a serious breach of the public service rule PSR, p and could be interpreted as an act of perjury, which they insist should not be treated lightly.
He also expressed concern over alleged “deep partisanship” of Lafene, alleging that he has turned the NLC secretariat into an extension of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
More troubling, according to the labour union activist, is his recent attendance of the APC North Central Congress in Lafia, which they say further reinforces claims of his political bias.
“He has politicised the NLC platform. He was recently at APC event in Lafia with tags and other senior members of the party.
He has literally tuned the NLC secretariate to an extention of the APC secretariate where political meetings are held almost everyda”, he added.
The concerned stakeholders called for his immediate handover, insisting that Lafene has overstayed his welcome.
“Lafene is always in bed with the government, and this has made him weak and ineffective. That is why you hardly hear him speak out on the plight of workers and pensioners.He has clearly been compromised,” he added.
