By Anone Zachariah
The just-suspended industrial action in the Federal Unity Colleges has become a litmus test for authentic leadership in the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), as members queued behind the duly elected National President, Comrade Shehu Muhammed, the association has said.
In a statement issued by the Media and Publicity Committee of the ASCSN, the association said the strike, which was declared by the authentic leadership under Comrade Shehu Muhammed to press home demands on the welfare and working conditions of members in the Unity Colleges, has proved that members know their legitimate leadership and take directives only from him.
The ASCSN said an impostor, driven by desperation, had attempted to smuggle himself into a high-level meeting with the Federal Government purporting to represent members of the association and hurriedly announced an agreement calling off the strike.
According to the committee, the document paraded as an agreement exposed the individual as an impostor, as he could not sign as National President but signed as a team lead and member of a negotiating team.
“This alone speaks volumes. He understands the legal implications of appending his signature as National President of the ASCSN at a time when the question of legitimate leadership is before the courts,” the statement said.
The association stated that the Federal Government, upon review, discovered it had engaged with an impostor and rightly discountenanced the purported agreement as worthless, null and of no effect.
It added that government has regretted its failure to exercise due diligence, which led to the continuation of the full-scale industrial action across all Federal Unity Colleges until the intervention of the genuine leadership.
To resolve the impasse, the committee said, the Federal Government convened a fresh meeting with the authentic leadership of the ASCSN, where Comrade Shehu Muhammed signed as National President and Comrade Joshua Apebo signed as Secretary-General.
The ASCSN noted that the agreement reached at that meeting is valid, binding and effective, and it is on the basis of that agreement that the industrial action in the Federal Unity Colleges was suspended.
“This outcome has reaffirmed a simple truth: ASCSN members know their President and obey his directives, and government officials know the true leadership to invite on matters affecting workers’ welfare,” the statement added.
The association assured members that the truth will endure, adding that the last strands of cobwebs are being meticulously removed.
