The NIGERIA Labour Congress (NLC) has called for an emergency meeting of its National Executive Council (NEC) scheduled to hold Tuesday to further deliberate on necessary actions over the arrest and detention of its President, Comrade Joe Ajaero on Monday.
Comrade Ajaero was arrested by security personnel at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja and subsequently detained on Monday while on his way to the United Kingdom to honour an invitation by the Trade Union Congress of the United Kingdom (TUC-UK).
The emergency NEC meeting, scheduled to hold by 9am Tuesday, was called after a meeting of the National Administrative Council (NAC) held on Monday “to take compelling action to engage the current forces of retrogression.”
The NAC, an organ composed of elected officers of the NLC and senior secretariat staff, especially heads of departments, in a communiqué issued at the end of its emergency meeting on Monday, calls on the Nigerian Government to reverse the “dangerous trend of authoritarianism and lawlessness, which threatens the country’s democratic fabric.”
The NAC, also demanded “the immediate implementation of the New National Minimum Wage which has been signed into Law”, stressing that the NLC “will not waver in its duty to protect the rights of workers and the freedom of all Nigerians.”
The NEC is the highest decision-making body of the NLC in between its quadrennial delegates conference.
The communiqué, signed by Comrade Prince Adeyanju Adewale, Deputy President of NLC, reads:
COMMUNIQUÉ OF THE EMERGENCY NATIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCIL (NAC) OF THE NIGERIA LABOUR CONGRESS (NLC) HELD ON THE 9TH DAY OF SEPTEMBER 2024.
The National Administrative Council (NAC) of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) convened an emergency meeting today to address the alarming and unlawful arrest and detention of Comrade Joe Ajaero, President of the NLC, by agents of the Nigerian Government. Comrade Ajaero was arrested and detained at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja while en-route to the United Kingdom, where he was scheduled to attend and address the Congress of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) of Britain, representing Nigerian workers in critical discussions on workers’ rights and social justice.
After extensive deliberation, the NAC resolved as follows:
Condemnation of the Detention:
The Council unequivocally condemns the brazen and illegal detention of Comrade Joe Ajaero by the Nigerian State without any legal warrant or justification. The NLC notes with grave concern that Comrade Ajaero was lawfully discharging his duties to represent Nigerian workers and had not committed any offense warranting such action. His detention is an affront to the rights of workers and the democratic principles of freedom of movement and expression.
Demand for Immediate and Unconditional Release:
The NLC demands the immediate and unconditional release of Comrade Joe Ajaero before 12 midnight today. The Council reiterates that Joe Ajaero is not a fugitive or a criminal, and his detention is an act of intimidation aimed at silencing dissent and stifling the labor movement’s voice in Nigeria. NAC also demands the immediate reversal of the current hike in the price of petrol to N617/Litre.
State of Alert:
The Congress places all its affiliates, State Councils, Civil society allies, and the Nigerian populace on red alert. The detention of Comrade Ajaero is an attack not just on the NLC leadership but on the rights of all workers and citizens to organize, protest, and express themselves freely. The NLC will not stand by while these rights are trampled upon. This provocation is another attempt by the State to scuttle the implementation of the new National Minimum Wage.
Mobilization for Further Action:
The NLC reaffirms its commitment to defending the rights of Nigerian workers and citizens. The Congress will not relent in its efforts to oppose all forms of oppression. NAC – in – session therefore summons an emergency meeting of the National Executive Council (NEC) by 9:00 AM tomorrow, the 10th day of September, 2024 to take compelling action to engage the current forces of retrogression.
The NAC urges the Nigerian Government to reverse this dangerous trend of authoritarianism and lawlessness, which threatens the country’s democratic fabric. NAC in session demands the immediate implementation of the New National Minimum Wage which has been signed into Law. The Nigeria Labour Congress will not waver in its duty to protect the rights of workers and the freedom of all Nigerians.
Comrade Prince Adeyanju Adewale
Deputy President
