PRESIDENT of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar has declared that he was ready to be arrested if it was established that he led the leadership of the congress to take money from the Federal Government to back down on labour agitation against the deregulation of the downstream oil sector.

Worried by the allegation, Comrade Omar was said to have told members of the National Executive Council of the NLC, at its recent meeting held in Kaduna, that he would offer himself for arrest if, indeed, the allegation was found to be true.

Following the decision of the NLC congress to join the protest rally being organised by the Save Nigeria Group (SNG), led by Noble Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka and the Pastor of the Latter Rain Assembly, Pastor Tunde Bakare and what was perceived by some Nigerians as the quiet attitude of the NLC in recent times over vital national issues, allegation were rife that the congress leadership had collected money from the government to succumb the to deregulation policy.

The issue of deregulation, especially the meeting held with labour leaders by the Acting President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan a week before the Kaduna NEC meeting and the allegation, which was reported in a national daily (not Nigerian Tribune) topped the agenda of the meeting.

However, while some members wanted the congress to lie low with the allegation, Comrade Omar was said to have refused but insisted that the issue should be charged to court in order to establish the veracity of the allegation.

The NLC president presented a strong position that the newspaper involved should be sued, so that the case could be properly investigated, while he is ready to face the music if found guilty.

“I am ready for arrest if it is finally established that we have collected money to back deregulation. If we sue the paper and the writer, the people will be forced to come out and present the fact and if it is established that I have collected money, I am ready to be arrested and prosecuted accordingly,” Omar was quoted to have said.

However, an authoritative source revealed that the NLC was initially willing to be part of the SNG rallies but backed out because of those fingered to be behind the group.

A source from the Labour House, Abuja, told LabourToday that the NLC was not willing to be part of the rallies because the group was allegedly being sponsored by one of the powerful ministers during former president Olusegun Obasanjo’s government.

The source stated that the NLC refused to support the rallies when it understood that the former minister was behind the group, and indeed their sponsors.

Specifically, the source pointed out that the said minister made so many people cried as a result of his activities, few years back, and wondered why the congress should join such a person.

Besides making many Nigerians cry, the source said the former minister was also corrupt and showed this while appearing before the National Assembly probe and told them that if it comes to their turn, and they have the kind of opportunity he had, they could favour their enemies rather than their friends and families.

The source expressed sadness that Nigerians tend to forget the past easily, and wondered why such a person could suddenly turn a democrat and an activist overnight because the present system does not favour him.

Meanwhile, Comrade Omar pointed out that the NLC leadership had opted for constitutional resolution of the crisis in the country, rather than embark on protest rallies and strike. He also said that some vested interests wanted them to resort to “massive civil disobedience.”

He stated that the country was already tensed, a situation which had compelled the Chief of Army Staff to caution the military not to contemplate military intervention.

Comrade Omar said: “While some vested interests wanted Congress to go beyond soliciting for a constitutional resolution of the crisis by calling out workers to a massive protest rally or embark on a nationwide strike, the leadership of Congress was very conscious of the dangers such massive civil disobedience could have on the country’s democracy in an already tensed scenario.