On Tuesday, November 14, at midnight, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) will launch a nationwide industrial action in protest of the savage attack on Comrade Joe Ajaero in Imo, which was purportedly assisted by members of the Nigerian Police Force.
Until instructed otherwise, members of every affiliated union of the two labour centres in the country will stop serving.
At a news conference in Abuja, where the battered Congress President, Joe Ajaero, spoke to the media about his suffering at the hands of his adductors in Owerri, the NLC General Secretary, Comrade Emmanuel Ugboaja, confirmed this.
According to Ajaero, the Congress had already planned the Owerri action as part of its action plan to protest in states where workers’ rights are being violated, just as NLC nationals had recently done in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and Kaduna, Kaduna State, in defence of their members.
Regarding the protest’s timing, he stated that the NLC made the sensible choice to act immediately rather than hold out for the election of a new Imo government. Should we have waited for a new Imo State government to take office, people would still have questioned why we had been waiting all these years. In Imo, our goal was solely to serve the interests of the labour force. How is it possible for the state governor to have enough money to settle some state seniors on a monthly basis but not enough to pay employees? He continued
He further described how the workers who had shown up at the protest site as early as seven in the morning had allegedly been abused and driven out. I arrived at the location around 9 a.m. accompanied by approximately 20 security guards and prepared to brief journalists on the circumstances. I was arrested and given over to thugs who beat me with various objects, dragged me on the ground, and tied my eyes when the police and other mufti members entered and removed all of the security.
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They began questioning me about why I was opposing Governor Hope Uzodinma and advised me to say my final prayers since they intended to cast me into the Njaba River. They accused me of meddling in local politics. I’m not sure which one is local politics, though.
I do not possess a membership card from any political party in Nigeria. Furthermore, he ought to have access to some classified information as a governor in order to determine which political party I support. However, I am grateful for my survival to God. A generational curse has been drawn upon whoever has embezzled the money belonging to the workers, as well as blood money.
“For those who said I was in Imo to aid in my family members’ election, I’m not sure that anyone from my village is running for even a counselling election, let alone my family,” he continued. He and his family and everyone else who is funding the nonpayment of workers’ salaries will not work. That’s what the goal is. It’s a heavenly assignment.
“My family members are free to run for office if they are interested, but I have no family members or anything else running for office. I’ll take any party’s form if I decide to run for any office tomorrow. A civil servant is not prohibited by law from running for office. It is also evident from the appeals court that you do. A demonstration or rally requires authorization. You only let security know.
“On that day, employees of several media outlets suffered humiliation. Two employees of TVC were handcuffed. Did they have political game going on? Furthermore, the TVC has been a lawbreaker in its silence. Why has the NUJ been silent over the mistreatment of journalists? Even my passing would not have put an end to the fight for those workers’ compensation. The individuals who would take over would have been more bold if I had perished in the process.
“More decisiveness would have come from any of the deputies who would have taken over here. Therefore, nobody is backing down; the only thing to do is let justice do its work and make good on your debt to the people you owe money to.
“We will not accept the torture, humiliation, and brutalization of a citizen, a citizen that has global stature,” adds NLC GS Emmanuel. People have called for clarification on what happened and Joe Ajaero’s position from all across the world. Therefore, it indicates that there is something they know that we do not know if people are calling from all over the world and no one from your own country is speaking.
Therefore, starting on Tuesday, the Nigerian employees employed by TUC and NLC would stop providing their services. Hundreds of workers were physically abused while the NLC president and his staff served as the point of contact. They lost their wallets, phones, and cash. He is merely the emblem of what took place. Furthermore, nothing has been done as of yet. Thus, as a country, we cannot carry on in this manner.
