7th Quadrennial Delegates Conference: AUPCTRE Elects New National Executives In Kano

The Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service, Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE) has elected Comrade Eugene Manji as its new National President at its 7th Quadrennial National Delegates Conference held in Kano on Wednesday.

The election, which climaxed a colourful and peaceful conference, also produced other National Executive Officers to pilot the affairs of the union for the next four years.

Those elected alongside the President are: National Deputy Presidents – Comrade Uzu Fidelis and Comrade Ibrahim Kirfi; National Vice President, Central Zone – Comrade Umaja Aloysius; National Vice President, Federal Zone – Comrade Adoga Abdullahi; National Vice President, Western Zone – Comrade Adebayo Adedoyin; National Vice President, South-South Zone – Comrade Joman Bernard; National Vice President, Eastern Zone – Comrade Bashir Chibuzo; National Vice President, North-West Zone – Comrade Samaila Abdullahi; and National Vice President, North-East Zone – Comrade Moses Helda.

Others are National Treasurer – Comrade Farotimi Olusoji; National Secretary Finance – Comrade Rabiu Abdulrahman; and National Auditors – Comrade Rashila Alkali and Comrade Nnamachi Anthony.

The election was supervised by the Registrar of Trade Unions, who represented the Minister of Labour and Employment. The Registrar commended delegates for their peaceful, transparent and orderly conduct, describing AUPCTRE’s process as worthy of emulation by other trade unions in the country.

In his acceptance speech, the newly elected President, Comrade Eugene Manji, thanked delegates for the confidence reposed in him and his team. He declared that the time for politicking is over, pledging that the new leadership is now fully ready to serve and reposition the union for greater effectiveness and stronger defence of workers’ rights.

The Kano conference also marked the end of an era – the eight-year stewardship of Comrade Benjamin Anthony, who took over the leadership of AUPCTRE in Ibadan in October 2017 at a period described by many comrades as turbulent.

What followed has been widely hailed as a legacy of resilience, stability and strategic victories.

Under Anthony, AUPCTRE moved from crisis management to a model union in the Nigeria Labour Congress family. As FCT Council Chairman, Comrade Aliyu Maradun noted at a recent valedictory, “He took over at a very turbulent period, and he was able to stabilize the union.”

Anthony’s greatest strength was dispute resolution through mature engagement without compromising workers’ interests.

In 2023, he led the union to resolve a three-year industrial face-off with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), where the previous management had dissolved the union executive, banned union activities and transferred executives to distant states to weaken the union. His constructive engagement with the new Registrar-General, Hussaini Magaji, led to the dispensing of all protracted disciplinary cases, reversal of unjust stagnation in promotion, and restoration of industrial harmony.

In Anambra, his leadership secured an out-of-court settlement ending a 14-year legal battle with the state government over the dissolution of the Anambra State Water Corporation and the State Environmental Protection Agency – a settlement that saved the state N1.3 billion and opened the door for re-engagement of disengaged workers.

His intervention in the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) similarly restored peace, earning him and his executive the honour of being decorated as Ambassadors of SON.

A Member of the National Institute (mni) and product of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Anthony brought intellectual depth to unionism.

He made workers’ education a cardinal programme, insisting on continuous training, gender mainstreaming and availability of education materials to all organs of the union. He was also a frontline voice against water privatization, standing firm with civil society partners like Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) to advocate for Public-Public Partnerships (PuP) instead of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs).

From Secretary Administration, FCT Council in 2004, to National Secretary Finance, FCT Chairman (2013-2017), National President (2017-2026), NLC National Auditor (2018-2023) and now NLC National Vice President, Anthony’s trajectory has been one of steady, transparent and accountable service.

As Comrade Buba of the Federal Zone said, his leadership has been upright, unassuming and a game-changer.

As Comrade Manji takes over, he inherits a united, financially accountable and militant union – a testament to the resilience built under Comrade Benjamin Anthony.

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