By Ken Afor
Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Tuesday responded to the remarks credited to Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, in which he claimed that NLC President, Joe Ajaero was exploiting the organization to work out his personal issues with the Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma.
It would be recalled, Onanuga had earlier accused Ajaero of using the strike to make Nigerians suffer due to his own disputes with Uzodinma, which is an abuse of power.
Onanuga in a statement on Monday after the organised labour ordered its members to withdraw their services accused the leadership of the NLC, Ajaero of attempting to blackmail the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He said, “This decision by the NLC and TUC other than being an ego tripping move is clearly unwarranted. It is an attempt to blackmail the government by the leadership of the NLC,” the statement said.
“We are still at a loss as to why the NLC and TUC decided to punish a whole country of over 200 million people over a personal matter involving the NLC President, Mr. Joe Ajaero, whose error of judgment led to assault on him in Owerri while he was planning to incite the workers in Imo State into a needless strike.”
But in a statement issued on Tuesday by Benson Upah, Head of Information and Public Affairs for the NLC, the union criticised the presidential aide for his remarks on Ajaero.
Ajaero, according to Upah, is not employed in Imo and is not due any wages himself – rather, he is protesting on behalf of civil servants who have not been paid.
The Congress declared that the commencement of the strike was not for the benefit of an individual, but instead to protect Nigerians from the financial hardships they endure as a consequence of the government’s policies.
“Ajaero is not a member of any union in or outside Imo State nor is he owed a salary or pension payment arrears, but in his capacity as president of the NLC, he has an oversight over all the unions affiliated to the congress including the civil servants and pensioners who have been owed in varying degrees of arrears.”
