The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has accused certain interest groups of orchestrating a plot to silence the union under the leadership of its President, Joe Ajaero. This allegation follows the police’s invitation to Ajaero on charges including criminal conspiracy, terrorism financing, treasonable felony, subversion, and cybercrime.
In an interview with Vanguard, a senior NLC leader expressed concerns over what the union views as state-sponsored harassment and intimidation. The union insists that it remains committed to its mission of opposing policies that cause mass suffering and hunger, which they attribute to the Federal Government’s recent actions.
“There are grand designs by some interest groups to silence NLC under the current leadership. But they fail to understand that we cannot be silenced,” said the NLC leader. “We are fighting a just cause. We have the right to express our views in a democracy. The workers elected us to fight and make demands for them.
They are hungry, they are suffering, and they are dying and are in pain. These are what we are telling the government which they do not want to hear. These are the reasons they are after us, trying to cow us by all means.”
The NLC also issued a stern warning that should Ajaero be arrested, the union’s affiliates would shut down the economy in protest.
The controversy reportedly stems from the police’s interest in a bookshop operator located on the second floor of the Labour House, which has been operating there for years. The NLC claims that this issue is being used as a pretext to target the union’s leadership.
Femi Falana, SAN, a prominent human rights activist and legal counsel for the NLC, explained why Ajaero did not respond to the police’s summons on Tuesday. According to Falana, Ajaero is prepared to appear at the Force Headquarters on August 29, as scheduled.
The NLC remains resolute in its stance, vowing not to be silenced by any form of state-sponsored pressure or persecution.
