The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has expressed displeasure over the Federal Government’s failure to act one year after the harassment of its President, Joe Ajaero.
In a statement issued yesterday by its Acting General Secretary, Benson Upah, the Congress said September 9, 2024, remains a “day etched in infamy” in Nigeria’s democratic journey, recalling how Ajaero was arrested and detained at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
According to the union, Ajaero’s “offence” was speaking against rights violations, deepening poverty, exploitation, job insecurity, and worsening living conditions.
Upah noted that despite promises made by the National Security Adviser (NSA) after the brutalisation of Ajaero in Owerri, Imo State, no one has been held accountable.
He described the harassment as part of a broader campaign to silence the labour movement and pave the way for neoliberal policies such as privatisation, subsidy removal, tariff hikes, wage suppression, and casualisation without resistance.
The NLC also alleged that preventing Ajaero from attending the United Kingdom (UK) Trade Union Congress (TUC) conference was an attempt to isolate Nigerian workers from global solidarity.
Although Ajaero was released at midnight following threats of action from unions, the NLC maintained that the incident exposed the anti-worker tendencies of the Nigerian state and triggered outrage both locally and internationally.
The labour body called on workers, trade unions, peasants, youths, and progressive groups to intensify lawful struggles against policies that worsen poverty and inequality.