By Abimbola Ogunnaike
The new President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Joe Ajaero, has vowed to work for the betterment of Nigerian workers and reconnect Nigerians with the movement in the struggle for a better Nigeria
Ajaero, who took over from Comrade Ayuba Wabba at the end of the 13th quadrennial National Delegates’ conference of Congress in Abuja on Wednesday, 8 February, 2023, said his team would seek to reconnect more strongly to build greater solidarities, with the people rising once again to be carriers of their desires and amplifiers of their voices.
The new Labour Leader declared that his team would not only speak for 133 million Nigerians, who are multi-dimensionally poor, but shall also seek platforms to lift the shackles of poverty from the shoulders of the Nigerian people.
“We shall once again be the true champions of the Nigerian people; crying their cries and jointly waging our wars against all forces of impoverishment and misery,” Ajaero said.
According to him, under his leadership, the labour centre will seek in conjunction with its social partners, including key national stakeholders, to build a nation that would be more inclusive in all its ramifications and fair to all Nigerians, especially workers.
He stated that the NLC will seek review of the nation’s Labour Laws through the National Labour Advisory Council (NLAC). To this end, Ajaero urged all employers of labour, who have unsettled labour issues with their workers and unions, to resolve them to avoid NLC’s immediate intervention.
Delivering his last speech as head of the labour centre, Wabba, expressed displeasure over suffering of Nigerians in the wake of scarcity of Naira notes.
“Many Nigerians and workers have been pushed to the wall owing to the chaotic situation in our banks and filling stations, where Nigerians are queuing up endlessly to assess new currency notes and PMS.”
This is not acceptable and is condemned. We have more than enough to address those two issues. First, we’re a major oil-producing country but unfortunately, the only country in the world that is a member of OPEC that still depends on importation.
“Second, we don’t understand the rationale that you lodge your money in your bank accounts, yet you are limited from withdrawing what you want to use.”
He cautioned that if the new Naira note policy is not addressed swiftly, there might be a time bomb of imaginary proportion.
