No Faction In Rivers NLC -Itubo …Assures Workers Of Salary Payment Soon …FCMB Denies Paying Civil Servants March Salaries

The leadership of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Rivers State chapter has said that there was no faction in the state congress of the labour movement.
Speaking to The Tide on Wednesday in Port Harcourt, the state chairman of NLC, Comrade Beatrice Itubo said the congress was united in the state under her leadership as the elected state chairman of the NLC.
Itubo said NLC in the state has never been factionalised despite individuals’ perception and views on how the  organized labour in the state should operate.
She said the NLC has 42 affiliated unions operating in the state, adding that  during the state delegates conference of the congress held at Presidential Hotel, Port Harcourt on April 23, 2015, 37 affiliate unions participated in the delegates conference, that elected her as the NLC state chairman.
The state NLC boss said only five affiliate unions abstained from participating in the delegates conference, and as such, the five affilaite unions cannot constitute a factional leadership in the state.
She explained that NLC under her leadership would promote the welfare of the workers through meaningful dialogue with relevant stakeholders that include employers and the state government.
Itubo said that it was not going to be business as usual with the organized labour movement in the state as she was ready to run a very transparent focused and open administration of the NLC in the state.
She called upon individuals having any factional tendency with the intention to create division and crisis in the state congress to shelve such intention and join forces with her leadership to move NLC forward in the state.
She urged workers in the state to support her leadership and the congress to chart more progressive agenda for them.
On the issue of delay in the salary payment of state workers for two months and pensioners allowances, she explained that the NLC and Joint Public Service Negotiating Council had met the secretary to the state government and the Accountant General to ensure that the two months outstanding salaries were paid without further delay.
She claimed that First City Monument Bank (FCMB) and Zenith Bank had paid the state workers March salary, but that workers who  receive salaries through ECO Bank and United Bank for Africa (UBA) were yet to receive their salaries, adding that the state government had explained that before May 11, 2015 all outstanding salaries would be paid.
Itubo said the orgainsed labour has given the state government the benefit of doubt on their commitment to ensure workers salaries and pensioners allowances were paid as promised.
She advised the workers to remain calm as the congress was not going to rest on its oars until the state workers were paid all their due salaries and allowances.
The NLC boss further explained that the congress would vigorously pursue the issue of non-promotion and release of promotion interviews already conducted for the various ministries and agencies of government.
She said workers’ welfare was a cardinal point of her leadership’s agenda in the state.
All efforts to speak with Comrade Addah Williams, who is purportedly claiming the factional chairman of NLC in the state proved abortive.
But in a reaction , an official of the FCMB, who spoke to The Tide on condition of anonymity denied that the bank has paid any March salary to the state workers who receive their salaries through the bank.
The official said the bank was not given the schedule of salaries for workers for March by the state government, and cannot pay any staff of the state government, without any formal directive from the government.

APC supporters from Ahoada West, Akuku-Toru and Obio/Akpor local government areas protesting over the outcome of APC local government primary election held in Port Harcourt on Wednesday