The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has described as “mischievous, utterly ridiculous, or hopefully, an act of sheer ignorance” a public notice by the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) declaring the loss of title documents for two plots of land in Abuja.
In a statement signed by its President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, on Friday, the NLC reacted to NSITF’s publication in national dailies including Vanguard and The Sun on 10th July. The notice, signed by NSITF’s Managing Director Oluwaseun Faleye, declared as lost the Certificate of Occupancy, Power of Attorney and Deed of Assignment for Plot Numbers MISC 54707 and MISC 54824.
The NSITF had urged “the public, the Department of Land Administration, Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA); the Abuja Geographical Information System (AGIS); and other authorities vested with powers to issue Certified True Copies (CTC), or re-issue or perfect replacement processes or documents” not to deal with anyone presenting the original documents.
However, the NLC strongly countered this claim, stating: “The aforesaid plots of land have always belonged to the Nigeria Labour Congress, and will continue to belong to the Nigeria Labour Congress.” The labour union emphasised that it holds both “the proprietary and possessory rights” over the properties.
“It is trite knowledge that one cannot claim loss or issue loss notice over that which one has neither possessory nor proprietary right,” the NLC stated, advising NSITF to withdraw its notice immediately.
While stopping short of legal action for now, the NLC said: “We are neither pressing charges nor asking for damages for the embarrassment this public notice has caused us for now.” The Congress instead recommended that NSITF “consult the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trustfund Pensions for the true position of the aforesaid plots of land.”
The labour body concluded by urging “the general public, FCTA, AGIS and other authorities vested with powers on land titling to ignore this notice.”
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