Few minutes after he was elected the new national president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Joseph Ajaero, has hit the ground by vowing to mobilise members on a nationwide strike against the current scarcity of fuel and naira notes.
He said the NLC will take upon itself to protect the interest of Nigeria if the federal government fails to address the issue by the end of next week.
Ajaero who was until his selection the general secretary of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) emerged the consensus candidate at the end of the congress’s 13th National Delegates Conference in Abuja yesterday.
Ajaero and other members of the National Administrative Council (NAC) will pilot the affairs of the congress for the next four years.
In his acceptance speech, the new MLC president also promised to pursue a new national minimum wage law that will take into consideration the objective realities of the country’s social-economic situation to avoid unnecessary politicking and impunity by employers and reduce the suffering of Nigerian workers.
According to him, the congress shall continue in its tradition of ensuring that Nigerians are protected from all anti- people policies.
Vowing mobilise Nigerian workers for industrial action, he said, “We shall therefore robustly engage the government to stop the impunity and pervasive wickedness currently going on in the country in the name of petroleum product pricing.
“The usurpation and use of state power to impoverish the citizenry abuses the ideals of democracy and destroys the nation. Governance ought to provide comfort for the citizenry.
“So, it pains us to witness the increasing frustrations Nigerians have had to go through in the last few months just to fuel their cars and generators, the new phenomenon of black market Naira-buying our own monies at a discount from illegal brokers.
“We will definitely not keep quiet in the face of this deliberate defilement of citizenship by the ruling elite as we may mobilise variously across the nation to nudge the government to act more responsibly towards the citizenry and seek ways of alleviating the suffering that currently walks our streets with arrogance.
“We pledge to lead the battle to reclaim Nigeria from the front, in this spirit the federal government should take immediate action to set free the deposits of Nigerians it has impounded in the banks across the federation by making cash available and also untie the petroleum products supply at the agreed price. If nothing is done before the end of next week, we shall be forced to take necessary steps”.
PMB Welcomes Ajaero’s Emergence As NLC Leader
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated Joe Ajaero on his emergence as the new president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
The presidentm in a statement by presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, also hailed the national executive committee of the NLC on the success of the congress that produced the new leadership.
“After many years of hard work and struggles, the selflessness with which Ajaero dedicated himself today paid off. His journey in the Labour movement has been a remarkable one, marked by many important milestones.
“This victory that emerged from a rancor-free congress is a mark of the strength of democracy in the nation’s labour movement.
“Today, as he rises to the highest position in the NLC, it is our hope and desire that he will use the position to write a new chapter of progress for all workers and the labour movement in the country and the continent in general,” Shehu quoted the president as saying.
The president also expressed hope that Ajaero and his team will continue to be partners to the administration in fulfilling the aspirations of Nigerian people.
President Buhari also congratulated Comrade Ayuba Wabba for a successful completion of his tenure as the head of Nigerian workers, wishing him the best in his future undertakings.
He wished the new executive body a successful tenure.
