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BREAKING: POLICE ALLEGEDLY ARREST NLC PRESIDENT IN OWERRI
Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force, on Wednesday, allegedly arrested the National President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero in Owerri, the Imo State capital.
Benson Upah, the NLC’s Head of Information, noted that Ajaero was picked up at the state secretariat of the congress and taken to an unknown location.
“President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Joe Ajaero was picked up a few minutes ago from NLC state council secretariat by heavily armed policemen in Owerri and taken to an unknown destination,” Upah informed our correspondent via text message.
The NLC had vowed to mobilize its members for a total strike in Imo state starting Today, November 1, 2023.
Ajaero, during a press briefing on Sunday, accused the Imo State Government of “violating the rights of the Nigerian workers in the state.”
Ajaero accused state governor Hope Uzodimma of neglecting workers’ wellbeing and lamented that many of them had died as a result of the alleged lack of payment of their salaries.
He outlined some of Uzodimma’s alleged violations against workers, such as the alleged refusal to implement previous agreements, particularly the agreement reached on January 9, 2021, outstanding salary arrears of about 20 months, unjust declaration of workers as ghost workers, declaration of pensioners as ghost workers, and unpaid gratuity arrears, among other things.
According to him, approximately 10,000 pensioners have been incorrectly labelled as ghost pensioners, resulting in over 22 months of unpaid pensions, while the Imo State Government has labeled approximately 11,000 workers as ghost workers.
The NLC president also lamented the non-compliance with the national minimum wage by the state government, adding that Governor Uzodinma has resisted the use of social dialogue and collective bargaining to resolve the issues.