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Deliberate and calculated plan by the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), under Joe Ajaero, to call workers in Imo State out for a show down with the government over flimsy excuses was, yesterday, rebuffed as the workers said they have no axe to grind with the government.
However, the workers urged Ajaero and his colleagues, who are fanning the ember of unrest and discontent in the state, to choose the path of peaceful resolution of issues where they think one exists.
The Trade Union Congress (TUC), especially wrote to Governor Hope Uzodimma, yesterday, expressing shock over the said call for strike and reminded the governor that their workers have been told to be at their duty posts and to ensure they carry out their official duties accordingly and diligently.
In dissociating themselves from the industrial action called by the Ajaero-led NLC, effective midnight of Wednesday, March 8, 2023, the Imo State Council of the body, declared it has no justifiable reasons to call their members out for strike “as labour in the state has no outstanding issues with the state government.”
Briefing newsmen in Owerri, the state capita, the NLC Chairman, Imo State Council, Phillip Nwansi, said: “The call for strike in Imo State is embarrassing, unnecessary, uncalled for and most importantly, surprising as the state government is neither owing nor having any outstanding issues with workers welfare to elicit the call for strike.”
Supported by the Secretary of the state’s congress, Uche Chigaemezu, Nwansi said the only issue at hand in Imo NLC was “an internal problem of postponed delegate conference election and a resultant purported caretaker committee which is alien to the congress and the constitution.”
Nwansi said they got approval for their delegate state conference elections to hold on March 7, 2023, but for reasons best known to the screening committee, they were unable to publish the list of qualified and disqualified contestants which created confusion and uproar on the day of the election as all were gathered for the election but to no avail.
“This resulted to the postponement of the election to a later date following the directive from the national body to do so,” he said.
He further added that when the delegates had dispersed as the election could not hold as planned they were surprised to “hear of the establishment of a caretaker committee of the body made up of other contestants,” and which excluded his own group.
“Worse still, a caretaker committee for NLC is unconstitutional and alien to NLC.
“The right thing to do would have been to allow the (existing) leadership to remain, since according to him, their tenure of four years is supposed to come to an end on April 19 and 20, 2023,” he said.
He, therefore, appealed to the national body of NLC to come to Imo State and ensure peaceful reconciliation of both sides that may have disagreed over certain issues on the election and possibly schedule a new date for the election to hold rather than hitting up the polity unnecessarily.
Leadership of TUC, Imo State chapter also expressed shock over the call for strike, and accordingly dissociated themselves and their members from such.
In a letter to Governor Uzodimma, yesterday, the TUC Chairman and Secretary, Uchenna Ibe and Chijioke Ezekwe, respectively, said: “We are constrained to inform you through this letter that TUC has no idea of any impasse between the state government and the NLC that necessitated industrial action being embarked on by its members.
“All affiliates with their workers under the umbrella of TUC have been directed to report to their duty posts and ensure they diligently carry out their official duties accordingly.”
