A faction of the Labour Party (LP) has distanced itself from the nationwide strike action embarked upon by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), describing it as a sponsored agenda to create anarchy and frustrate democracy.
The organised labour had declared an Indefinite nationwide industrial action, starting from Tuesday, to protest sundry issues, including the alleged non-payment of workers salaries in Imo state and allegedly to protest a recent assault of the NLC President, Joe Ajaero in Owerri, some days ago.
In a statement released by the faction’s publicity secretary of the LP, Abayomi Arabambi, a copy of which he sent to TheWest newspaper, the political party accuses the workers of plans “conquer Nigeria”
Arabambi said: “The indiscriminate use of NLC/TUC to strangulate democracy and prosecute personal agenda of political and Economy decimation of our country is an affirmation of their desperation to Conquer Nigeria
“The principle of Natural justice does not allow the Sin of an individual to be visited on the society to which the individual belong nor is it morally justified to judge the conduct of a society by the conduct of a few”
The LP faction wondered why the union leaders would want to destroy Nigeria by frustrating the economy and livelihood of over 200 million people.
According to the Publicist, Ajaero needs to have a clear understanding of the difference between labour and personal matters.
“We are therefore unable to compute any form of juxtaposition as to why the NLC/TUC are hell bent on destroying the population of over 220miilion Nigerians over a personal incident that involved the NLC president whose lack of ability to Distinguish between Labour activities and partisans politics led to assault on him in Owerri by unknown Mob
‘The NLC/TUC has manifestly and incompetently displayed gross deficiencies in their capabilities and capacities to managed and maintain a clear distinctions between their primary role as a defender of workers’ interests and involvement in partisan politics with their active membership of Labour Party which has deviated their focus from labour issues and the welfares of its members.
“Most Unfortunately, the present Labour leadership under Joe Ajaero has now become the worst in the history of the Labour Union because recent events casted a negative aspersions on the credibility of the NLC/TUC as its current leadership, which appears to be consumed indisputably with the identity crisis.” He said.
The political party also scolded the organised labour for its contempt of court.
The Federal Government had earlier reminded the unions of a subsisting court order stopping them and their affiliates from embarking on the strike.
Abayomi insisted that the court must be respected at all times. “Orders of court as made must be obeyed until set aside. Orders of the court are to be respected and obeyed. The dignity and honour of court cannot be maintained if its Orders are treated disdainfully and scornfully without due respect.
“Consequently, non-compliance with an order of the industrial court makes the strike incompetent and illegal . Thus the purported commencement of the Nation wide strike today 14th November 2023 amounted to a blatant disobedience to the Orders of court.
*There is an urgent need by the security agencies to issue stern warning to Nigeria workers for them to respect the law.The NLC and TUC must not be used by any thoroughly demystified political misfits or their agents to ground the economy.” He said
The Lamidi Apapa-led faction also called for an immediate end to the strike action while advising tye labour leaders to seek redress in the court, “instead of taking to the streets to disrupt the economic activities of the nation”.
As part of recommendations to prevent a repeat of this, the LP faction called on the government to create new labour bodies including “the Nigeria Trade Union Congress (NTUC), Labour Unity Front (LUF), United Labour Congress (ULC) which would served as alternative platforms for interested workers aside the two already politically infested NLC/TUC”
