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By Ighomuaye Lucky, Benin
The Caretaker Committee of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Edo State Council, on Saturday, directed its affiliate unions to boycott a purported sensitisation and familiarisation meeting organised by the state Ministry of Labour and Productivity.
The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 23, 2026, at the John Odigie-Oyegun Public Service Academy (JOOPSA), with proceedings expected to commence at 11:00 a.m.
In a statement dated September 18 and signed by its Chairman, Comrade Prof. Monday Lewis Igbafen, the caretaker committee said the Edo NLC leadership had not received any official invitation to the meeting.
The committee said it was therefore directing the leadership of the NLC and chairmen and secretaries of its affiliate unions across the state to stay away from the programme.
According to the statement, the committee had been informed of a purported invitation extended to organised labour, comprising the NLC and Trade Union Congress (TUC), but insisted that no formal invitation had been addressed to the legitimate leadership of the Edo NLC.
“While the Caretaker Committee remains open to engagements of this nature, it must be emphasised that we cannot attend a meeting to which we were not invited,” Igbafen said.
He added that until the legitimate leadership of the Edo NLC was officially invited, the NLC leadership and its affiliate unions should “distance themselves from and boycott” the meeting.
The caretaker committee subsequently appealed to the unions to comply with the directive, stressing that their cooperation and solidarity were required.
The development comes amid an ongoing leadership dispute within the Edo State NLC, with the caretaker committee asserting its position as the legitimate leadership of the council.
