Workers’ Union Divided Over Oshiomhole, Airhiavbere

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Two days to Edo state governorship election, members of the workers’ union of Edo state-owned Edo Line are at loggerheads over who to support between the candidate of the Action congress of Nigeria (ACN), incumbent Governor Adams Oshiomhole and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, General Charles Airhiavbere in the election.

P.M.NEWS has it on good authority that union members of the transport company which metamorphosed from Bendel Line have been divided over the choice of candidate to support in the election.

It was gathered that some members of the union led by their Chairman, Segun Okosun, held a meeting on Tuesday during which they decided to give their votes for the PDP candidate as an expression of their grievances over the closure of the establishment by the government of Adams Oshiomhole.

Governor Oshiomhole ordered the indefinite closure of the transport company in November, 2010, following an alleged simmering crisis between members of staff and the government-appointed chairman of the Board of Directors of the transport company, Amos Osunbor.

The union had protested against the appointment of Osunbor whom they accused of defrauding the company during his first appointment as the chairman of the transport establishment during Lucky Igbinedion’s era.

Reacting to the decision at a press briefing in Benin City on Wednesday, a faction of the union led by Tony Bamawo, a former chairman of the union and adviser to the incumbent executive, dissociated the union from the endorsement of the PDP candidate.

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According to him, “the purpose of our gathering here today is to let the entire state and in the world know that we are not behind those who went on air to say that the whole Edo Line workers have endorsed the candidature of General Charles Airhiavbere, a PDP candidate for the governorship election.

“I want to say here that they did not seek our permission, did not talk to anyone of us, did not consult us. In Edo Line we are not just few human beings. We don’t know why a few group of people will just go to somewhere a make a political statement that is beyond them.

“At least we are governemnt workers and if they are going to say something like that they ought to have consulted us. So, we want to say that we are against such statement. What Okosun and his group said is their view. Those of us present here, we want to say we are not part of it.

“We stand to say we are not part of it. We are workers of governemnt and we must be seen to be loyal to the government in power. We want to categorically says that we so believe that the Comrade Governor can revitalise Edo Line. We have that assurance.”

He, however, alleged that the group that endorsed the PDP candidate was bribed to carry out their action just as he urged all other members of the establishment to ignore their statement and support the candidature of Adams Oshiomhole.

By Jethro Ibileke/Benin

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