By Joan Nwagwu
The Federal Civil Service Pensioners (FCSP) branch leadership has rejected the recent call for the dissolution of the national executive of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP) by a group.
Mr Fredrick Eguaoba, Chairman of FCSP, said this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.
Eguaoba said the call by the group identified as Concerned Federal Civil Service Pensioners (FCSP) was uncalled for.
He described the move as unfortunate, noting that certain individuals resort to discrediting others simply due to they were no longer in positions of power.
“Many of the aggrieved individuals had recently lost in the FCSP elections and are now wrongfully blaming the NUP for their defeat.
“It is disheartening to see people dwell in delusion and try to derail union progress simply because they didn’t emerge victorious,” he said.
He stated that both the FCSP leadership elections and the broader NUP process were transparently conducted with the presence of the Ministry of Labour, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), and other relevant agencies.
He urged members of the Concerned FCSP to return to the union’s fold and contribute meaningfully to its development rather than waste energy and resources on what he described as a “campaign fueled by cronyism.”
He however said that the upcoming NUP National Delegates Conference, scheduled for April 14, presents a fair opportunity for any interested member to contest, rather than resort to smear campaigns.
“Some of the very people now agitating were once members of the Caretaker Committee that supervised our election before it was dissolved.
“We are not interested in joining issues with them. Our advice is simple: stop expending your aged energy in fruitless battles. Be more useful to the union,” he added.
Eguaoba called on all members and the general public to ignore the calls for the dissolution of a duly elected executive body.
He added that, people cannot continue to condemn every process they lose in. This is exactly what plays out in national politics, once some people lose, they discredit the process,”.
He urged all pensioners to focus on supporting the leadership of NUP, which he said has worked tirelessly to maintain peace and unity across its branches.