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…Affirms commitment to workers’ cause at COP28 in Dubai
By Bimbola Oyesola
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has refuted what it describes as a ‘falsely contrived media innuendo’ suggesting that the participation of its President, Joe Ajaero, at the Conference of the Parties (COP 28) in Dubai was a government-sponsored gift.
The NLC through a statement signed by its Head of Information and Public Affairs, Benson Upah has clarified that the trip was a result of its commitment to defending workers’ interests, particularly in the context of climate change and the concept of a Just Transition.
Upah noted that the attention of the Congress was brought to some reports circulating the social media erroneously portraying Ajaero’s attendance at COP 28 as compensation from government for surviving an alleged assault by ‘agents of state which happened in Imo State recently. The NLC vehemently denies this narrative, emphasizing that both the President’s trip and that of the NLC Focal Person on Climate Change, Eche Asuzu, were fully financed by the NLC itself.
“It is unfortunate that a laudable effort by the Nigeria Labour Congress to defend and promote the interest of workers with regards to climate change was turned into a media propaganda by those who are bent on using the slightest opportunity to feed their determined and sustained campaign of calumny against the working people of Nigeria.
The mischievous report also portrayed the crass ignorance of the sponsors who obviously are the only Nigerians who do not know that the NLC is a respectable self-funding institution. The perpetrators also failed to do their basic home work. If they did, they would have found out that the NLC has also been participating in the Conference of the Parties since 2009.”
While calling on Nigerians to disregard the reports, Upah stated that as part of its advocacy for a Just Transition for workers, the NLC organized a Side Event at COP 28, providing a platform to connect with the global working-class movement. During the event, Ajaero actively participated as a discussant on the first panel, highlighting the crucial role of workers in the global discourse on climate change.
According to him, “The side event was also an opportunity to present a Research work undertaken by the NLC Climate Change Program on Just Transition which covers Nigera’s seven priority sectors. The President called for the re-training, upskilling and re-skilling of workers to prepare them for the transition from fossil fuel economy to green energy pathways. He also called for adequate social protection measures for workers who may not be able to transit.”
