Imo Governor, Hope Uzodimma, Accuses NLC President Ajaero of Political Meddling and Blackmail
During his interaction with State House correspondents after obtaining the APC flag from President Bola Tinubu at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, Governor Uzodimma accused Joe Ajaero, the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, of meddling in the state’s political affairs. He alleged that Ajaero attempted to blackmail the government over unpaid salaries, stressing that the state had disbursed wages to all workers.
Uzodimma highlighted the conflict, noting that the NLC’s National President had failed to distinguish his role as a national leader from that of an interested party in local politics.
The NLC on Wednesday kicked as its President, Ajaero, was arrested by the police in Owerri, the Imo State capital.
Ajaero was said to be in the state to mobilize NLC members for a total strike in Imo starting from Wednesday.
We reported that Ajaero, during a press briefing on Sunday, had accused the Imo State government of “violating the rights of the Nigerian workers in the state,” and therefore vowed to mobilize members of the union in the state for a total strike.
The Head of Information of the NLC, Benson Upah, who confirmed the arrest to us, noted that Ajaero was picked up at the state secretariat of the NLC and taken to an unknown location.
But Uzodimma, who said he stopped the NLC’s national leadership from dissolving the Imo State chapter of the Congress, explained why he intervened.
He said, “I understand the sensitivity of this event (protest). But I want you people to be careful because there is an attempt to mix up partisan politics or an attempt to blackmail my government.
“I can tell you that my people are already aware; that was why the NLC Imo State chapter addressed a world press conference that what their national leadership is doing is not correct and that they are not going to embark on any strike or protest.
“In the process, they decided to dissolve them to put in a caretaker. Of course, I’m the Chief Security Officer and I have a responsibility to intervene. I encourage the national leadership not to dissolve a management team that their tenure has not expired, and that was what they did.”
The governor, who said he does not interfere in labour matters, said he has convinced his “workers in Imo State to believe in me, and that trust is what opposition parties are trying to fight.”
