On November 1, 2023, it was widely reported that the president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, had been whisked away by security operatives at the ongoing protest in Owerri, the capital of Imo State.
Facts have emerged that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Joe Ajero, was in Imo State to campaign for the governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Athan Achonu.
A member of the NLC who wished to remain anonymous stated that Ajaero deceived the workers in Imo State by claiming he was in the state for a total strike but was surprised when he led all the executive of the NLC to visit Imo State governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Athan Achonu.
“This is what infuriated those members who are nonpartisan and have been waiting for hours under the sun to attack Ajaero against the insinuation that he was beaten by the police.
“He can’t be playing partisan politics at the expense of the whole nation. As the president of the NLC, Ajaero should be neutral.
A court order cited by our reporter had earlier prevented the NLC from embarking on a total strike, but Ajaero used the opportunity to go on a campaign spree for the governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Athan Achonu.
It will be recalled that the NLC had earlier vowed to mobilise its members for a total strike in Imo State starting November 1, 2023, as Ajaero had, during a press briefing on Sunday, October 29, 2023, accused the Imo State government of violating the rights of Nigerian workers in the state.
In the press briefing, Ajaero bemoaned the fact that many workers have died because of what he claimed was the state governor’s indifference to their wellbeing.
He listed some of the alleged transgressions committed by Uzodimma against its employees, such as the purported inability to carry out prior agreements, particularly the one struck on January 9, 2021; unpaid salary arrears of nearly two years; unfair labelling of employees as “ghost workers”; and unpaid gratuity arrears, among other things.
He went on to claim that over 11,000 employees have been classified as ghost workers by the Imo State Government, and nearly 10,000 pensioners have had their benefits incorrectly labelled as ghost pensioners, leading to almost 22 months of unpaid pensions.
