The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) have suspended the nationwide strike they embarked on Tuesday.

The suspension of the strike came after leaders of the two unions met with representatives of the federal government in a meeting on Wednesday at the office of the national security adviser (NSA).

At the end of the meeting, the labour unions agreed to consult with their members on the next step concerning the nationwide strike.

The federal government was represented at the meeting by Simon Lalong, minister of labour and employment; Nkeiruka Onyeajeocha, minister of state for labour and employment, and Nuhu Ribadu, the NSA.

The unions were represented by Festus Usifo, president of TUC; Emmanuel Ugboaja, general secretary of NLC and other labour leaders.

Speaking to journalists at the end of the sitdown, the TUC president said they had a robust discussion with the federal government’s team.

The labour leaders said they received a commitment from the Ribadu-led meeting that those arrested for the physical assault on Ajaero would be prosecuted.

The nationwide strike is a protest against the alleged brutality of Joe Ajaero, president of NLC, in Imo state.

Ajaero was reportedly picked up from the Imo council secretariat of the congress in Owerri by heavily armed police officers.

However, the Imo police command said Ajaero was not arrested but was taken into protective custody to avoid being lynched by a mob.

On November 5, the national industrial court in Owerri, the capital of Imo, issued an order restraining labour unions from embarking on a strike in the state.

Also, the federal government secured an order restraining the unions and their affiliates from embarking on the strike.

Despite the court orders, the labour unions stood their ground and proceeded with the strike.

Nuhu Ribadu, the NSA, had begged the unions to call off the strike, adding that the attackers of Ajaero, have been arrested.

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has called on the 2023 candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olajide Adediran, popularly known as Jandor and the candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, to join him to make Lagos greater.

The governor, who made the call on Wednesday, was reacting to the ruling of the Appeal Court sitting in Lagos, which affirmed his election.

A three-man panel comprising of Justice Yargata Nimpa, Justice Samuel Bola, and Justice Paul Bassey, on Wednesday, unanimously dismissed the appeal of the PDP and Adediran, for lack of merit.

The court also dismissed the appeal filed by LP and its candidate, Rhodes-Vivour, thereby affirming the re-election of Sanwo-Olu and his deputy Obafemi Hamzat.

“We urge our opponents to embrace the olive branch and join our sure march to the Greater Lagos that keeps rising by the day,” Sanwo-Olu said in a statement made available to THE WHISTLER.

He said that his victory at the Appeal Court has further strengthened his commitment to impact the lives of Lagosians positively.

“With sense of humility, I welcome the decision of the Court of Appeal, which ruled today in our favour, thereby validating the position of Lagosians who freely cast their ballots to return my deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat and I as Governor and Deputy Governor of our dear State. We do not take it for granted.

“Today’s judicial pronouncements, like those of the Lagos State Elections Petition Tribunal, have buoyed my confidence in our country’s judicial system. The Court examined all the issues and did justice to them, without leaving anyone in doubt as to who is the rightful winner of the election.

“Our party, the All Progressives Congress(APC) will continue to maintain its firm belief in the judicial process.

“My deputy and I have satisfied all the constitutional requirements and are now more focused on delivering the democratic dividends to our people.

“With deep gratitude to the Almighty God, I humbly accept today’s Appeal Court verdict, with a sense of responsibility and a desire to continue with the giant strides of our administration so as to leave a great legacy for our people.

“The judicial victory has further strengthened my resolve to impact the lives of Lagos residents positively, regardless of their political persuasion, in line with our THEMES+ development agenda,” the governor added.

Sanwo-Olu was declared the winner of the March 18 governorship election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after polling 762,134 votes to defeat his closest rivals, Rhodes-Vivour who gathered 312,329 votes, and Adediran who came a distant third with 62,449 votes.

The All Progressives Congress, APC, has replied to the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, over allegations of dictatorship and a one-party state advising him to concentrate on repairing his damaged political psyche.

The APC argued that the party is strengthening democracy and welcomed Atiku and the PDP to play the role of opposition.

Atiku while meeting with the National Executive Committee of the Inter-Party Advisory Council Nigeria (IPAC), emphasised the importance of protecting democracy.

He expressed concern over the APC’s actions, which he said was “leading Nigeria towards a one-party dictatorship.”

But the APC through its spokesman, Felix Morka, on Wednesday said, “Exasperated by the drooping fortunes” of the PDP, Atiku “opined that Nigeria was sliding into a one-party state.”

Morka said, “It is pitiful that a statesman of Atiku’s standing would so easily conflate the wide acceptance of our great party among Nigerians with his irrational fear of one-party dictatorship.

“Perhaps, the Turakin Adamawa needs to be reminded that Nigerians are highly percipient and can differentiate between political deviance of PDP and demonstrable commitment of APC to deepening democracy and fostering our common good.

“Before its epic defeat in 2015, the PDP proclaimed and flaunted its plan to rule Nigeria for a minimum of 60 years. At that time, Atiku was willfully blind to fear of a PDP one-party dictatorship but now appears to be under the influence of a distorted vision inflicted by the debilitating serial trouncing of his party at the polls.

“The PDP’s brigandage, impunity and profligacy of 16 years remain unforgettable,” Mroka said.

He pointed out that, “In its brief period at the helm, APC has implemented far reaching reform of the Electoral Act and introduced technological innovations, including the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV) all aimed at improving electoral transparency and deepening our democracy.

“Remarkably, Atiku and his PDP have not only consistently failed at the polls, they have proved incapable of offering a credible alternative political vision as expected of an opposition party.

“Instead, the PDP has sustained its free fall into the abyss of quicksand by its intractable internal contradictions and impoverished leadership.

“The PDP’s flagrant disregard for due process, another of its bane, is the reason the party fielded its National Secretary, Sen. Samuel Anyawu, as governorship candidate in Imo State in the just-concluded off-season gubernatorial election.

“As a candidate, Sen. Anyanwu failed to resign his position as National Secretary as required by law. Is it any wonder that the Imo electorate rejected Anyanwu, who clearly did not have confidence in his own candidacy to quit his position as a party officer?

“Anyanwu’s greedy disposition has reportedly sparked a fresh round of leadership imbroglio at the ‘Wadata House of Commotion’.”

The APC urged Atiku to “concentrate on repairing his damaged political psyche and attempt to revive his comatose PDP and leave APC out of their combined predicament.

“However, we welcome the former Vice President’s charge to opposition political parties to rally together to engage in opposition politics.

“On our part, President Bola Tinubu will continue, undisturbed, to justify his electoral promises in the Renewed Hope Agenda as he builds a safer, stronger and economically vibrant country for the benefit of all.

“That’s what Nigerians care about, that’s what they deserve.”

Nigeria’s inflation rate has risen to a record 27.33 per cent in October, principally driven by the high cost of food and non-alcoholic beverages, the National Bureau of Statistics has said.

The Bureau disclosed this on Wednesday in its Consumer Price Index Report for October 2023 obtained by THE WHISTLER.

In September 2023, inflation was estimated by the Bureau to be at 26.72 per cent.

Year-on-year-basis, inflation rose 6.24 per cent higher compared to the rate recorded in October 2022, which was 21.09 per cent.

During the review period, the NBS said on divisional level, food and non-alcoholic beverages contributed 14.16 per cent to inflation, housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuel contributed 4.57 per cent while clothing and footwear accounted for 2.09 per cent, among others.

The food inflation rate in October 2023 was 31.52 per cent on a year-on-year basis, which was 7.80 per cent higher compared to the rate recorded in October 2022 at 23.72 per cent.

The NBS attributed the rise in food inflation to the increases in prices of bread and cereals, oil and fat, potatoes, yam and other tubers, fish, fruit, meat, vegetables and milk, cheese and eggs.

Compared to September, food inflation was measured at 30.64 per cent by the NBS.

The case was not different in the urban areas where the inflation rate rose to 29.29 per cent which was 7.66 per cent points higher compared to the 21.63 per cent recorded in October 2022.

Rural inflation rate in October 2023 was 25.58 per cent on a year-on-year basis. This was 5.01 per cent higher compared to the 20.57 per cent recorded in October

In spite of all the hype with which the Labour Party assaulted us in the buildup to the just concluded gubernatorial elections, Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma, somehow succeeded in making the party look like a pathetic aggregation of very noisy neophytes, full of sound and fury signifying absolutely nothing other than their crass ignorance, perplexing arrogance and political illiteracy.

As if as a metaphor for their shocking lack of manners and rather quite worrisome addiction to brigandage, the Labour Party's agent in Imo, a fellow described as a lawyer, flew entirely of the handle and proceeded to break the law by basically trying to disrupt the collation of results.

Indeed, this quite obnoxious character, effectively held up the results collation by repeated deployment of shamefully thuggish actions which profusely disclosed breach of public peace significance.

I do not know the name of the Labour Party candidate in Imo but apparently, simply because he is "Eluu Pee", he must win?

Then, where does that leave Hope, who has brought much hope, sanity and development to the state since he became Governor?

Some people have been insinuating that Senator Uzodinma's comprehensive triumph has "rehabilitated" him from what they refer to as his erstwhile status as a "Supreme Court Governor".

Hope Uzodinma never needed any rehabilitation because he was never a "Supreme Court Governor", in the first place.

Contrary to the sensationalist bent of a section of the Nigerian media and the gullibility of those they have been able to gaslight for over three years now, the Supreme Court declared Uzodinma, Governor, because the apex court found as a material fact that he actually came first in his first election and was only declared fourth by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, because the results from 388 polling units, which he swept, had been illegally omitted from the final tally of that election.

What Governor Uzodinma has done again is precisely what he did before, except that this time around, he defeated his rivals even more comprehensively than before!

I don't know what the Labour Party (or even the People's Democratic Party, PDP, for that matter) is planning to do regarding the outcome of the election.

The PDP, on its part, is clearly dead in the South-east, and I think its candidate, being a seasoned politician, knows better than to waste his time on a petition without basis.

As for the Labour Party, it is the headquarters for gaslighters, greedy hunters and Yahoo Boys.

I wouldn't put it past its conscienceless leaders to take its delusional supporters on another wild goose chase as it did to them regarding the presidential election.

If they choose to go to court, they would do well to hire Kenneth Okonkwo as their lawyer so he can retrieve their nonexistent mandate by tweeting from the court room, casting aspersions on the Judiciary, and, insulting judges because he knows there is no case to argue and no mandate to reclaim.

As for the good people of Imo, they can look forward to another four years of actualized hope from a Governor called Hope.

Onokpasa, a lawyer, was a member of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Campaign Council, and writes from Abuja.

Since civil war broke out in Sudan in April, approximately 10,000 people have died and six million Sudanese are displaced internally and across neighbouring countries – mostly Egypt, Ethiopia, Chad and South Sudan.

Indications are that clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) will be protracted as the two sides battle to take key towns and a crisis unfolds in Darfur.

So far, only the Jeddah process has produced tangible results in the search for peace. Talks started in May when partial ceasefires, tenuous and brief, were brokered by the United States (US) and Saudi Arabia. The Jeddah talks resumed in late October, with belligerent parties showing wavering political will to end the crisis. They committed to improving humanitarian access and assistance and implementing confidence-building measures such as opening communication channels and reducing inflammatory rhetoric and disinformation.

In addition to the narrow focus of these objectives, another challenge is the lack of a clear and articulated African position in these talks. Responses from the African Union (AU) and East Africa’s Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) have been inadequate from the start. Coordination and implementation among the various African initiatives established to resolve the conflict have been limited.

The AU developed a roadmap for resolving the conflict and set up the Expanded Mechanism to convene a core group of Peace and Security Council (PSC) member states, Sudan’s neighbours and pivotal stakeholders. But the group hasn’t officially met since May.

For its part, IGAD created its own roadmap and brought together heads of state from Djibouti, Kenya, Ethiopia and South Sudan to engage the conflicting parties.

Neither the AU nor IGAD’s disparate peace processes have achieved their primary objectives. These include providing an effective humanitarian response, protecting civilians and civil infrastructure, and arranging face-to-face meetings between the SAF and RSF leadership to find a political settlement.

Prospects for peace have been hampered by coordination and collaboration problems between the two entities and within the AU, a lack of resources and capacity, and poor leverage over the conflicting parties. Faced with these difficulties, and assurances from the US and Saudi Arabia, the Jeddah process has dominated peace-making efforts.

Although IGAD had initially called for a single IGAD-AU-led platform in line with African solutions to African problems, the regional body is now participating in the Jeddah talks for the first time ‘on behalf’ of the AU.

It’s unclear whether the AU and IGAD roadmaps were consolidated into a single position, and if such a position has been included in the Jeddah negotiations. The principles of subsidiarity seem to be misunderstood, as confusion persists about whether IGAD will drive its roadmap or serve as the AU’s mouthpiece.

The impact of the Jeddah process is also unclear. The talks are a bilateral initiative influenced by the foreign policies and interests of the US and Saudi Arabia.

A multilateral mechanism would be preferable, bringing global weight and resources, and informed by African voices. The United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) could fill that role.

UNITAMS was established in 2019 to provide oversight, assistance and support to Sudan’s transition. However, it has been largely discredited due to perceived biases among various Sudanese stakeholders.

Eventually, contestations between the UN’s Special Envoy and Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Volker Perthes, and the de facto transitional authority head, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, culminated in the former being declared ‘persona non grata’ in Sudan.

Although Perthes resigned in September, UNITAMS’ mandate was renewed by the UN Security Council until 3 December. Given that the US, Saudi Arabia and African actors have failed to secure a permanent ceasefire and course correct, UNITAMS’ mandate should be urgently reviewed and extended beyond December.

A benefit of UNITAMS is that it encompasses the AU and IGAD as actors on an equal footing. There were differences in approach to the UN-AU-IGAD trilateral mechanism, including how the partners wanted to oversee the transition. However, the inclusion of the AU and IGAD was a result of their comparative advantages and a recognition of their roles in Sudan since 2019. In comparison, the AU and IGAD’s involvement as co-facilitators of the Jeddah process seems more ad hoc.

The UN-AU-IGAD mechanism combines the legitimacy of African voices with the UN’s capacity to implement results-yielding sanctions, with requisite leverage over the conflicting parties. In early October, the UN’s Human Rights Council passed a resolution to set up a commission of inquiry to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan. None of the 19 countries that voted in favour were African. Several African countries voted against the resolution or abstained.

The AU, IGAD and their respective member states could push for greater representation and decision-making within UNITAMS. The recent announcement that Ramtane Lamamra, former Algerian foreign minister and past AU commissioner for peace and security, could replace Perthes as UNITAMS head, comes at a critical juncture.

This round of Jeddah talks provides an opportunity for the AU and IGAD to draft a comprehensive plan that guides their engagements and improves coordination on Sudan.

The AU has a chance to concretely shape the peace process in terms of design, timing and outcome. The PSC’s ministerial meeting on 15 November provides a platform to reconceptualise Africa’s engagement on Sudan.

Maram Mahdi, Researcher, Africa Peace and Security Governance, Institute for Security Studies (ISS) Addis Ababa

“Alo  ni ti ijapa, abo ni ti ana e” (While the public opinion favoured tortoise’s in-law at dawn; the popular view shifted in favour of tortoise at dusk).  

The Yoruba have an allegory about the pendulum of  public opinion from which the leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) should learn some lessons.

Tortoise is, of course, the villain of the piece in many stories. But the story for today  is that of tortoise and its in-law. 

One night, tortoise raided the farm of  its in-law. Having set a trap for the notorious animal, the in-law caught tortoise in the early hours with some tubers of yams. Tortoise was tied to a tree by the footpath. On the way to their farmlands, early risers spat abuse on tortoise for its shameful act. Tortoise’s act was repugnant to the observers of the scene, who found the reaction of the in-law justified at dawn. 

However, on their return from the farm  at dusk  observers still found tortoise by the wayside being tortured by its in-law. The commentary changed as observers developed sympathy for tortoise because the in-law was perceived to have overacted. Some observers changed the tone and  even embarked on the rationalisation of the theft. One observer asked:  after all weren’t the stolen tubers of yams meant to feed the in-law’s offspring?  

The pendulum of public opinion  swung in favour of tortoise. In the morning, tortoise was called a thief while in the evening the in-law was considered wicked. So tortoise had the last laugh.

Not a few persons rightly condemned  the egregious assault on the president of the NLC, Comrade Joe Ajaero. This is the least that is expected from all decent persons and institutions. Yet, the strike jointly called by the NLC and the TUC to protest the  barbaric act of Ajaero’s attackers began yesterday with all its implications for the socio-economic environment. 

Last Wednesday on this page, this reporter called for justice in the matter of  the brutal attack on  the NLC president as follows: “The assault on the president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Joe Ajaero, in Owerri last week is unacceptable.

“Whatever the dispute might be such a treatment of a fellow human being should not be permitted in any civilised setting.

“The issue here  is the dignity of the human person which is a fundamental human right guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution.

“So no person with an iota of humanity in him or her would justify this barbaric act on any ground.

“The NLC’s position  is that Comrade Ajaero was in Owerri to lead a  workers’ protest against the Imo state government over poor working conditions. In a counter-position, the Imo state government has accused Ajaero of partisan involvement in the politics of the state. The state government says  it has fully paid workers their wages.

“To be sure, a lot of questions could be raised with  Ajaero’s  mission to Owerri. Organising a workers’ protest a few days to a crucial election in a state  is not the wisest step to take by a labour leader in the circumstance. Ajaero is from Imo state. Worse still,  the reported security problems in Imo state are well known. The Labour Party, a creature of NLC, is presenting a candidate to contest the election. For clarity, Ajaero’s support for the Labour Party is legitimate. He has not violated any law by supporting the candidate of  a party formed by NLC. But that fact alone should make it clear to him that partisan motives would easily  be read to any labour action on the eve of a governorship election in the state.  This should put him naturally in an awkward  position. So a greater tact should have been deployed.

“If  Ajaero has probably  committed a tactical  error by his ill-fated mission to Owerri, those who attacked him have certainly  committed a crime. Ajaero’s error could be organisationally corrected by the NLC; but his criminal attackers should be arrested and prosecuted and there must be restitution.

“The police failed to protect Ajaero against the aggressors. The police should not  fail to bring the perpetrators of the assault on  Ajaero to book.

“The Imo state government should not rationalise, let alone, justify this brutal act. The state government should instead resolve whatever disputes it has with labour using the machinery of industrial relations.

“The federal government should move quickly to engage the NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in discussions  to avert their threatened nation-wide strike against next Tuesday  to protest the assault on Ajaero. It is a good thing  that labour has acknowledged that a  highly responsive call from the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, prevented the situation  from getting worse in Owerri on that day.

“On its part,  labour should temper its understandable anger and  reconsider its position on the strike and opt for other less disruptive ways of seeking redress on this unfortunate  matter.”

Since that comradely advice was offered to labour leaders, Governor Hope Uzodinma has condemned the assault  publicly while apologising  to the NLC president. The Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Kayode Egbetokun, has redeployed to the Force Headquarters  the Commissioner of Police in Imo state at the time of the incident, Mr. Mohammed Ahmed Barde. The matter is also reportedly under investigation as ordered by the Inspector-General of Police. Meanwhile, the federal government has moved to secure an order of the National Industrial Court (NIC) forbidding  labour from embarking on the strike. Now, it is not advisable that  NLC and TUC should  present themselves as lawless organisations. Come to think of it, both labour centres formed by workers  are registered as organisations according to labour laws.  

The swinging of the  pendulum of public opinion is exemplified by the commentary on the labour action  by  accomplished journalist and ace columnist, Ray Ekpu, who aptly described what happened to Ajaero as “brutalisation.” But Ekpu also added the following comments: “…actions by labour must always be proportional and measured. They must never be total and all-embracing as if the aim is to destroy the country and its people, to deliver hell on earth, to bring Armageddon here and to take us to Golgotha. The statements made in recent times by our labour leaders give that wild expression…

“To continue to earn the respect and support of the public, our labour leaders must talk and act responsibly, not recklessly so that their actions can receive the nod of the watching public. They can only succeed if they do not seek to punish everybody for the sins of a few.” 

With those words of wisdom, Ekpu must be speaking the minds of many silent members of the public who would otherwise have sympathy for labour in its legitimate struggle to improve the material condition of workers.

Besides, labour should tread carefully so as not to burn its goodwill. The Imo state government has accused Ajaero of partisanship, a charge that the NLC leadership  cannot easily defend in the circumstance. It is a fact that NLC promoted the idea of the Labour Party (LP). But NLC and the LP are  two distinct organisations with different objectives as   defined by their respective constitutions and the laws under which they are registered. LP is seeking political power while NLC is only economistic, fighting for the improvement in workers’ conditions. Hence,  not all workers support the LP just as not all LP members belong to the trade unions affiliated to the NLC and TUC. In fact, the two governors so far elected on the platform of LP since it was registered  – Governor Olusegun Mimiko (for two terms) in Ondo state and now Governor Alex Otti of Abia State – were not members of any of the  NLC or TUC affiliates when they won their elections respectively.  A number of LP members  who won  legislative elections on the LP platforms in March  were not trade union members.  While Ajaero could legitimately be an LP partisan, he should not mix  his role as a party member with his non-partisan duty as a labour leader. Members of the public may  not fully comprehend the seeming contradictions in the relationship between a workers’ organisation and a political party. But, labour leaders should  develop the necessary  organisational skills to navigate the landmines that the dual status (party membership and labour leadership) might generate from time to time.

The NLC should not be corporately  used to advance any partisan interest at any level. The reason behind  this proposition is obvious: NLC or any of its affiliates will have to engage (as a social partner) all tiers of governments on a non-partisan basis. These governments are  controlled by different political parties. No government would be comfortable  negotiating with a labour organisation it suspects to be a proxy of a rival party.  Labour leaders should not  nurse any illusion that things could be otherwise. 

Above all, the federal government should engage NLC and TUC productively  to end the strike today. A solid assurance should be given that those who brutalised Comrade Ajaero would be punished according to the law to serve as a deterrent.

The industrial action embarked upon by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) at the Federal Capital Territory High Court branch, has stalled the arraignment of the former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele.

Naija News understands that JUSUN directed its members to join the industrial action by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).

NLC and TUC had declared the strike over an assault on NLC President Joe Ajaero in Imo State on November 1, 2023.

Justice Olukayode Adeniyi had last week granted Emefiele bail.

He ordered that he should be released immediately to his lawyers, who are charged with the responsibility of producing him in court for his arraignment today (Wednesday) or on any other day.

The travails of the former CBN Governor started when President Bola Tinubu suspended him as the apex bank chief on June 9, 2023.

A day after, the Department of State Services (DSS) confirmed that the embattled and suspended CBN Governor was in its custody.

After several legal fireworks by Emefiele’s counsel challenging his prolonged detention by the DSS, the secret police bowed to pressure on July 13, 2023, and announced that the suspended apex bank chief had been charged to court.

Emefiele was brought to a Lagos court by DSS operatives in a Hilux vehicle on Tuesday, July 25, 2023.

Appearing before Justice Oweibo, Emefiele, 61, pleaded “not guilty” to the two counts of illegal possession of firearm and ammunition filed against him by the Federal Government.

The DSS in August withdrew its charges against Emefiele.

The secret police freed the embattled ex-bank chief on October 26, just as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) detained him the same day.

The EFCC had failed to produce Emefiele in court last Monday, but bowed to the court’s order and produced the former CBN chief court last Wednesday for the hearing of his bail application.

The judge granted Emefiele bail last week, and was expected to be in court today to take his plea.

The Organised Labour has said the former Governor of Edo State, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, is ignorant of the reason for the ongoing nationwide strike.

The President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo, stated this on Wednesday during an interview on Channels Television.

Recall that the former President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) had in an interview with journalists at the Presidential Villa on Tuesday said the ongoing strike is politically motivated.

The senator representing Edo North Senatorial District in the National Assembly asked organised labour to prioritise the rights of workers rather than engage in politics.

In response to Oshiomhole’s comments, Osifo said the former NLC President does not have enough information on the ongoing strike called by organised labour

The TUC President stated that Oshiomhole only commented on the strike based on information passed by the Presidency to him during the meeting at the State House.

Osifo said Oshiomhole is busy with national politics, adding that he should have reached out to union leaders to get the real information before reacting.

The TUC president also denied claims that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, did not travel to Imo state on November 1 to entertain political issues.

He said: “Our senior comrade, Adams Oshiomhole, is giving an opinion based on the information he has.

“Today, he is a senator who is busy with national politics. I think he does not have sufficient information, maybe later we will give him as much information as possible, once he reaches out.

“He went to the villa to meet with them. That is the information that was given to him in the villa. Has he spoken to Joe Ajaero and senior labour leaders in the country to have their opinion?

“Maybe the information he (Oshiomhole) got from the villa was that he (Ajaero) went there to play politics.

“But I will tell him clearly that was not the case.”