A former Acting General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Mr. Owei Lakemfa, has been elected Secretary General of the Organisation of African Trade Union Unity.
The outgoing General Secretary of OATUU, Mr. Hassan Sunmonu, who is also the founding president of the NLC, said in a statement on Friday that Lakemfa was elected by 43 African countries at the 10th congress of the OATUU in Algiers, Algeria.
Lakemfa, a journalist and human rights activist, succeeds Sunmonu as the next secretary general of the continental body for the next four years.
The OATUU summit, which took place from December 1-7, had the theme: 'Pan-Africanism and Africa's Socio-Economic Development.'
The new leadership of the OATUU will operate under Prof. Ibrahim Ghandour (from Sudan), who was elected president.
Lakemfa said his election was not only an honour but a call to duty, which he said would be carried out effectively.
He commended previous leaders of the OATUU, including Sunmonu, Demba Diop, Michael Besha and Mohammed Abuzeid for their input into the development of the continental labour body.
He stated that the new leadership would be committed to “building on their Pan-Africanist tradition of commitment and dedication, and running an organisation based on collective leadership.”
