The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has accused unnamed government agencies of orchestrating the ongoing Labour Party (LP) crisis to destabilise the only major political platform it describes as rooted in the working-class ideology.
The NLC president, Comrade Joe Ajaero, made this assertion during yesterday’s Labour Party’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja.
Speaking to party leaders and stakeholders, Ajaero expressed concern over the external interference he believed was intended to erode the Labour Party’s foundation.
He described the moves as a calculated assault on a party that remains the political hope of Nigeria’s downtrodden.
“All agencies of government are involved in this destabilisation plot, whether it’s the Labour Party or the labour congress, that is what we are seeing, and there is no worker, no labour leader, that is not conscious of this.
The potential we have, that is, attracting all these attacks,” Ajaero said.
He further questioned the validity of judicial rulings that override a consent judgment, an agreement already recognised by all parties, arguing that such anomalies only occur when there’s a deliberate attempt to undermine the party’s autonomy.
Ajaero stated that the NLC, as custodians of the Labour Party, remains committed to preserving its ideological base and preventing it from being hijacked by political elites.
He also confirmed that the NLC still holds the party’s certificate of registration and has written to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to challenge any false claim regarding its loss.
The special NEC meeting seeks to steer the party towards recovery.
In his welcome address, the party’s Board of Trustees (BOT) chairman, Comrade S.O.Z. Ejiofor emphasised that the goal is to initiate a credible process for electing new leadership.
“It is our strong conviction that a process towards the election of a credible leadership for our dear party will emerge from this NEC meeting,” Ejiofor said.
Acting national chairperson of the Labour Party, Senator Nenadi Usman, earlier expressed optimism that the Labour Party is on course to become the largest political party in Nigeria.
The NLC and Labour Party, including Comrade Festus Osifo, the representative of the president-general of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), and stakeholders maintained that the party belongs to the people, workers, farmers, teachers, artisans, and the broader Nigerian public and must remain an accessible platform for true democratic participation.
