The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, says workers in Imo State have embarked on strike, in order “to restore sanity to the State’s industrial relations sphere”
Jeo Ajaero, National President of the NLC, in a statement, said the strike action was prompted “by the brigandage of the state government in conjunction with Security agencies against workers in the State yesterday who assembled peacefully to conduct the State Delegates Conference of the Congress”
The Union in furtherance of the strike advised “those travelling to Imo State through the Airport to look for other alternatives, those that make use of petroleum products should make efforts to seek alternatives and those that use electricity to seek other options outside the National Grid’
The NLC expressed worry that “the use of instruments of state as weapons to terrorize workers and the people cannot be accepted in sane engagements and it is only by the action of responsible organization like ours and other patriotic individuals that such perfidy could be stopped”
The NLC President called on the Federal Government “to use whatsoever may be at its disposal to protect the lives of the citizens and workers in Imo State.
“The actions and inactions of the state government are capable of turning the state into a ghost State and this must be avoided” he stated.
Reacting to the development, the State government in a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information, Declan Emelumba, expressed concern over the divisive, combative and autocratic style of the new President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Ajaero.
The government stated that Ajaero has enmeshed the Labour Union into avoidable partisan politics detrimental to the welfare of the Nigerian workers.
“Apart from being a pathological liar, available information to the government is, that it was Ajaero himself that actually disrupted the election because he wanted to impose his stooge on the workers” Emelumba submitted
According to the Commissioner, Ajaero wanted to impose one George from his local government against the wishes of the majority, a plot which the workers rose against the NLC leadership and insisted that the elections will not hold.
He said it is not true that agents of the government attacked any delegate as alleged by Ajaero, and challenged the Labour Leader to produce evidence to back his claims.
“It is unfortunate that a reputable Labour Union like NLC now has a President that is not only clannish but impulsive and a liar as well” he said
He said the Labour Leader should be interrogated of his agenda whose priority is to cause division and havoc in the South East.
“We should really know what this man wants. He is not up to two months in office and his focus is to destabilize the states in his zone. He started with Ebonyi, went to Abia and is now causing havoc his home State of Imo” he stated.