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Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Joe Ajaero, has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of being aloof and disconnected from organised labour, alleging that repeated attempts to engage the government have largely failed.
Ajaero spoke on Saturday during the latest episode of Mic On Podcast, while reflecting on the NLC’s planned nationwide demonstration in December 2025.
According to him, the labour congress wrote to Tinubu several times between May and December 2025 seeking engagement, but received no response from the President.
“For the past two to three years, it’s not government that is engaging. This government doesn’t engage,” Ajaero said.
He said the lack of response eventually pushed the NLC to announce a nationwide protest, which was scheduled to begin on December 17, 2025.
“It’s only when people engage; they now say A, B, C, D. So they are aloof,” he added.
Ajaero said the situation changed temporarily after some state governors intervened and facilitated a meeting between the labour leadership and government representatives.
“After that, some governors intervened, and we had an interface. So some governors met with us, and since that time, we have talked once or twice,” he said.
He, however, alleged that the issues raised by labour had largely remained unresolved since December last year.
“And those issues, from December last year to now, they are just doing their business,” Ajaero said, adding: “Everybody is their enemy.”
His comments came against the backdrop of renewed labour tensions after public servants under the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council embarked on a three-day warning strike.
The council had demanded, among other measures, a reduction in petrol prices to ₦500 per litre and approval of a new wage award for workers, threatening industrial action if the Federal Government failed to act.
