On Wednesday, the Nigeria Police Force reportedly apprehended Joe Ajaero, the National President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, in Owerri, the capital of Imo State.
Benson Upah, the Head of Information at NLC, confirmed that Ajaero was taken into custody at the state secretariat of the congress and transported to an undisclosed location.
This development comes in the midst of the NLC’s pledge to mobilize its members for a statewide strike in Imo, commencing on November 1, 2023.
Ajaero had previously accused the Imo State Government of violating the rights of Nigerian workers, specifically criticizing Governor Hope Uzodimma for neglecting workers’ welfare, non-payment of salaries leading to worker deaths, failure to honor past agreements, the misclassification of pensioners as ghost workers, outstanding salary arrears, and non-compliance with the national minimum wage.
This ongoing dispute has seen approximately 10,000 pensioners wrongly labeled as ghost pensioners and around 11,000 workers declared as ghost workers by the Imo State Government.
The NLC President also expressed frustration with the state government’s resistance to using social dialogue and collective bargaining to resolve these issues.
Further details on this incident will be provided as they become available.
