Industrial action at population commission not political - Chairman

The Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Chief Eze Duruihuoma, said the ongoing industrial action at the commission has no political undertone.

Some staff of the commission protested over the reappointment of Dr Ghaji Ismaila Bello as the Director General.

Bello, who had served out his first tenure, was reappointed by the Federal Government for a second term.

The development led to an indefinite strike by staff of the commission, who are resisting the reappointment.

“There is a chairman of the PDP in the commission manipulating the union to embarrass the government to serve political interest,” Bello told the Daily Trust.

Reacting to Bello’s comment yesterday in Abuja, Duruihuoma said the industrial action could not have been political as none of the union members belonged to any political party.

“I am a member of APC. To the best of my knowledge, the union people don’t belong to any political party,” he said.

He said he remained impartial in the standoff between the DG and the staff, as he was doing everything possible to broker peace and restore industrial harmony in the commission.

The National President of the NPC staff union nationwide, Comrade Rita Agaba, said the commission would remain locked until Bello’s reappointment was reversed.

Agaba said Bello’s first appointment was circumstantial and in violation of the usual appointment of previous DGs from within the commission.

“We will continue until government hears us. Bello must go,” she said.