AREMU, AJAERO EMBARRASSMENT TO LABOUR MOVEMENT, NLC SAYS

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Tuesday described Issa Aremu and Joe Ajaero as embarrassments to Nigeria’s labour movement, accusing them of impersonation.

Joe Ajaero who is General Secretary of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) and Issa Aremu who is General Secretary of the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN) contested for president and deputy president of the NLC respectively in an election last match in Abuja but rejected the result after they were declared losers

The duo declared themselves president and deputy president of the NLC respectively after organizing a meeting in Lagos barely a week after the Abuja elections where Comrade Ayuba Wabba emerged president.

Aremu had issued a statement a few days ago as deputy president of the NLC condemning the N8 billion budgeted for wardrobe allowance of national lawmakers. This has peeved the NLC.

Wabba, in a statement condemned the “serial impersonation” of Ajaero and Aremu, saying the NLC had refused to publish a disclaimer in the hope that “commonsense and sanity will eventually prevail on our comrades to stop this delusion.”

He added that while the two “pretend to be advocates of democracy, they have both become clear embarrassments, to themselves and unfortunately to the entire labour movement, since they lost the elections to be national officers of Congress. It has become clear to us and the entire labour movement that Comrades Ajaero and Aremu are determined to continue in their criminal enterprise of impersonation as President and Deputy President of NLC.”

However, in his reaction, Aremu, who said his group is the authentic NLC, described Wabba as a head of election riggers “masquerading as the leaders of NLC when indeed they are agents of some sections of government.”  

He said the “self-acclaimed President of the NLC, Comrade Ayuba Wabba has just issued a silly unprovoked and prejudiced statement claiming we do not speak for the Congress. After he had dragged affiliate union members to court over NLC delegates election,

“Ayuba in utter disregard of court process criminally declare legitimate union leaders imposters. He certainly wanted to once again rig the court process as he criminally rigged the failed 11th delegates’ conference.”