Labour movement worth dying for, says Ajaero after visit to police

The President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, on Thursday, said he had since known the challenges associated with being a labour leader in the country.

He stated this in Abuja shortly after he honoured the invitation of the police to appear at the Force Intelligence Response Team’s (IRT) office.

Daily Trust reports that Ajaero, who was invited last week by the police for questioning over “a case of criminal conspiracy, terrorism financing, treasonable felony, subversion, and cybercrime”, arrived at the IRT office at about 10:15 a.m and left some minutes past 11a.m.

The NLC president was accompanied by his lawyer, Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria; another senior lawyer, Maxwell Okpara; popular human rights activists, Deji Adeyanju; Marshal Abubakar and some senior officials of the NLC.

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Our correspondent, who monitored the development, gathered that the labour leader was given a “statement sheet” to write all that he knew regarding the questions that were posed to him by some officers at the police unit.

Briefing newsmen, Ajaero said the circumstances surrounding his recent questioning were part of the ongoing struggle for workers’ rights.

He said: “Comrades, the labour movement is worth dying for, because of patriotism and commitment. The Labour movement is one of the biggest pan-Nigerian organisations. Our patriotism from the days of colonial masters during the period of the military is unshakable.

“We are more patriotic than any other institution you can think of in this country. We have gone there and we are back. I just want to confirm to you that as a citizen, we have gone there and we are back here. You cannot do this kind of job without this kind of hazard, it is expected.

“Even at the unit level, some of us experienced this as far back as 1998. But what is important is the circumstances that took me to that place.

“For whatever is the case, we are out to continue the struggle, we have gotten minimum wage but it has not been implemented so we have to press for its implementation as soon as possible. Every other thing that will make the welfare of the Nigerian workers to be worthwhile, we will be involved in it. We will not listen to any distraction.”

Maxwell Okpara, who spoke on behalf of NLC lead counsel, Femi Falana, SAN, said the inclusion of terrorism financing and treason allegations in the summon letter to Ajaero may have been a mistake.

According to him, the allegations were not discussed during Ajaero’s interview with the police at the IRT office, disclosing that they only asked about a tenant at the NLC Headquarters.

“We were surprised, because the allegations listed in the invitation letter were not addressed during the questioning. They were not even mentioned,” the lawyer said.