- Pix above(l-r): –l-r: Ribadu still pleading with Ajaero
The National Executive Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress on Wednesday night suspended the ongoing strike, following the intervention of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
–As organised labour sheath their sword
The meeting between the organized labour and the NSA which commenced a few minutes past 7 pm lasted for over one hour during which various affiliates and state chapters of the unions reviewed the outcome of their stand and promptly suspended their action in honour of the NSA, whom they believe, displayed a level of integrity in all his actions during the saga.
The National Deputy Vice-President of the TUC, Tommy Etim, made this known in an interview with our correspondent in Abuja.
He said: “The NEC of the NLC and the TUC have suspended the strike. We did this based on our trust for the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, who gave us his words.”
The State Online reports that the labour leaders met with Ribadu alongside the Minister of Labour, Simon Lalong, at the Office of the NSA on Wednesday afternoon before the real meeting began later in the day.
The NSA had announced that the individuals responsible for the brutalisation of Ajaero had been arrested.
The State Online further reports that the National President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Joe Ajaero, was, on Wednesday last week, arrested and brutalized in Owerri, Imo State capital, by operatives of the Nigeria Police Force. He was thereafter hospitalized following injuries given him.
NLC’s Head of Information, Benson Upah, said Ajaero was picked up at the state secretariat of the congress and taken to an unknown location.
“President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero, was picked up a few minutes ago from NLC state council secretariat by heavily armed policemen in Owerri and taken to an unknown destination,” Upah told our correspondent via a text message.
Reports said that the NLC had vowed to mobilise its members for a total strike in Imo State starting November 1, 2023.
Ajaero, during a press briefing on Sunday, had accused the Imo State Government of “violating the rights of the Nigerian workers in the state.”
Accusing the state governor, Hope Uzodimma, of neglecting workers’ welfare, Ajaero lamented that many of them have died because of the alleged lack of payment of their salaries.
He outlined some of the infractions against workers by Uzodimma to include the alleged refusal to implement previous agreements, especially the accord reached on January 9, 2021, outstanding salary arrears of about 20 months, unjust declaration of workers as ghost workers, declaration of pensioners as ghost workers and unsettled gratuity arrears, among others.
According to him, approximately 10,000 pensioners have been wrongly labeled as ghost pensioners resulting in over 22 months of unpaid pensions while about 11,000 workers have been branded by the Imo State Government as ghost workers.
The NLC president also lamented the non-compliance with the national minimum wage by the state government, adding that Governor Uzodinma has resisted the use of social dialogue and collective bargaining to resolve the issues.
Ajaero was however, left off the hook after his brutalization and eventual hospitalization at Federal Medical Centre, Owerri. This much was revealed by Human Rights Lawyer/Activist, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, in a WhatsApp Platform. Falana in the chat had said: “We have secured Comrade Ajaero’s release. But he is in the hospital as he was brutalised by the police.”
Ever since then, the organized labour has been clamouring for the arrest and prosecution of the Imo State CP, and Area Commander said to have been implicitly involved in the brutality, until Ribadu broke the news to them that those actually fingered have been arested. /SHARE THIS
- Tags: Comrade Joe Ajaero, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, Gov Hope Uzodimma, Imo Police Command, NLC, TUC
