THE ORGANISATION of Trade Unions of West Africa (OTUWA) has stated that it received the news of the brutal attack on the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Joe Ajaero and scores of other workers in Owerri, Imo State capital, on Wednesday.
OTUWA, the umbrella trade union body of member countries of ECOWAS, with headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria, said in retrospect, the hoodlums who perpetrated the attack could have been sponsored the Imo State Government under Mr. Hope Uzodimma.
In a press release signed by Comrade John Odah, the Executive Secretary of OTUWA, the organisation noted that the incident is “more scandalous that the attack on the NLC President received active connivance and collaboration from operatives of the Nigeria Police Force.”
Comrade Odah, who is currently attending a continental trade union event in Johannesburg, South Africa, said it is a horrific news and that he is being bombarded with enquiries from colleagues about what he described as the “all-time fascistic and brutal low in labour relation.”
RELATED STORY: NLC, TUC Allege Abduction Of NLC President; Accuse Imo Governor Of Unleashing Mayhem On Workers
“The undersigned is currently attending a Continental Trade Union Forum in Johannesburg, South Africa where I am bombarded with inquiries from colleagues around the continent on Nigeria descended to this all-time fascistic and brutal low in labour relations. This is indeed horrific.
“OTUWA holds Governor Hope Uzodimma responsible for whatever happens to Comrade Joe Ajaero in the duration of his time as Governor of Imo State,” Comrade Odah stressed, as he also called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to call Governor Hope Uzodimma, an APC member, to order.
Odah also called on President Tinubu to also ensure that the attack on Comrade Ajaero “is thoroughly investigated, and the necessary due diligence applied to bring the perpetrators of this heinous attempt on the life of the NLC President are prosecuted to the full extent of the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The release, entitled: “The Organisation of Trade Unions of West Africa Expresses Shock at the Brutality Against the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress By State Agents in Imo State”, and made available to National Record, reads in full:
RELATED STORY: NLC Accuses Gov Uzodinma, Imo Police Of Attempted Murder
“The Organisation of Trade Unions in West Africa (OTUWA) received with great shock the news of the brutalisation of the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Joe Ajaero, and scores of other workers at the NLC Secretariat in Owerri on 1st November 2023. On hindsight provided by precedence, we believe the hoodlums who perpetrated the attack were sponsored by the Imo State Government under Mr. Hope Uzodimma. It is more scandalous that the attack on the NLC President received active connivance and collaboration from operatives of the Nigeria Police Force.
“Against the background of the negative image that Nigeria has endured in recent times as a result of the wrangling among the political elites of our country, it is disheartening that the APC Government in Imo State has no qualms in carrying out this scale of dastardly attack which once again put Nigeria in the news as a country where trade union leaders are battered for daring to protest against several months of unpaid wages and sundry labour relations issues.
RELATED STORIES: Gov. Uzodinma Accuses Comrade Ajaero Of Being Used By Vested Political Interest
“We in OTUWA had wrongly believed that this dark era in labour relations ended with the Obasanjo regime which was the last time an NLC President – Comrade Adams Oshiomhole – was brutalised by State Security agents and detained by the police in early 2005. The alarming thing about the attack by Mr. Hope Uzodimma against the NLC President in connivance with the Nigeria Police is the deployment of well-armed thugs who were recruited by the government of Imo State.
“The undersigned is currently attending a Continental Trade Union Forum in Johannesburg, South Africa where I am bombarded with inquiries from colleagues around the continent on Nigeria descended to this all-time fascistic and brutal low in labour relations. This is indeed horrific.
“OTUWA holds Governor Hope Uzodimma responsible for whatever happens to Comrade Joe Ajaero in the duration of his time as Governor of Imo State.
ALSO READ: JAF Condemns Brutal Attack On Workers By Police, Thugs In Imo
“We call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to call Governor Hope Uzodimma who is his fellow party member to order. President Tinubu should also ensure that the attack on Comrade Joe Ajaero is thoroughly investigated, and the necessary due diligence applied to bring the perpetrators of this heinous attempt on the life of the NLC President are prosecuted to the full extent of the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“We call on the Inspector General of Police to remove the Imo State Commissioner of Police for allowing policemen under his watch to join hands with thugs to execute the high crime of attempt on the life of citizens of our country including that of Comrade Joe Ajaero yesterday.”
