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THE NIGERIA Labour Congress (NLC) has issued a direct and forceful warning to the Edo State Government, holding Governor Monday Okpebholo personally responsible for the safety of its members amidst what it calls “credible reports” of a state-sponsored plan to disrupt the inauguration of the Caretaker Committee of Edo State Council of the NLC.
In a sharp but terse press release dated August 26, 2025, signed by Comrade Benson Upah, its Acting General Secretary, the NLC accused the state government of an alarming pattern of interference in its internal affairs, violating fundamental International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions and national labour laws.
The crisis stems from the NLC’s recent dissolution of its fractious Edo State Council. The Congress stated that all attempts at reconciliation, including interventions by a joint committee with the Federal Ministry of Labour, had failed.
This impasse, Comrade Upah stated, was driven by the Governor Okpebholo’s “reluctance to work with” the democratically elected chairperson, Comrade Odion Olaye, before he was “illegally removed” by a government-backed faction led by Bernard Jormah.
Left with no alternative, the NLC national leadership dissolved the state council and constituted a Caretaker Committee to steer its affairs pending new elections.
However, the NLC now alleges a campaign of intimidation by the state government to thwart the inauguration of this committee, scheduled for Thursday, August 28, in Benin City.
According to the NLC, the Edo State Government has seized control of the NLC Secretariat in the city and issued threats against members of the Caretaker Committee and NLC officials sent to inaugurate them.
“With the inauguration of the caretaker committee scheduled for Thursday, August, 28, 2025 in Benin City to which the government was invited, the key to the NLC Secretariat in Benin City has not only been seized by government, threats have been issued to members of the caretaker committee and those assigned by Congress to inaugurate them.
“We are dismayed by the hostile behaviour of the governor and want to state unambiguously that we shall personally hold him responsible if any of the caretaker committee members or those assigned to inaugurate them come to harm.
“We equally by this statement publicly wish to inform the police and the DSS of the sinister motives and plans of the governor of Edo State,” Comrade Benson warned in the press release.
Benson expressed profound dismay at the governor’s actions, framing them as a betrayal of Edo State’s storied history as a cradle of Nigerian labour activism — the home of venerable labour figures like Pa Imoudu and Adams Oshiomhole.
“We are therefore at a loss where this governor is coming from,” Benson further stated, contrasting the current administration’s hostility with the pro-worker legacy of its predecessors. The NLC advised the governor to “steer clear of internal labour governance,” concluding with a terse, cautionary note: “We do not take instructions from him. A word is enough for the wise.”
