The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has issued a directive to all workers and affiliated unions across the country to immediately shut down the economy if its president, Joe Ajaero, is arrested by the Nigerian Police Force.
This comes after the police summoned Ajaero to its headquarters for questioning, in connection with allegations of involvement in terrorism financing and other charges.
In response to this development, an emergency meeting of the NLC’s National Executive Council (NEC) was convened at the Labour House on Tuesday.
During the meeting, the Congress decided to request an extension from the police, allowing time for consultations with their legal team.
Addressing the workers who had gathered in solidarity at the Labour House, NLC Deputy President Kabiru Ado Sani emphasised that the police’s invitation to Ajaero was effectively an invitation to the entire workforce of Nigeria.
He stressed the Congress’s commitment to the rule of law, stating that while they would honour the police’s invitation, they would seek an extension to prepare adequately.
Sani also made it clear that if Ajaero were to be arrested or detained, all workers nationwide should be prepared to down tools and cease all services in protest.
He urged them to remain calm, return to their workplaces, and await further instructions from the leadership.
He said, “At the end of the meeting, we reached some certain resolutions. Part of the resolution is that, as a committed labour centre we agreed that we abide by the rule of law and due process.
“We will honour the invitation of the Nigerian police because we are not a faceless organization, but we believe that we need an extension of time, after consultation with our lawyers, because this invitation was extended to the Congress President yesterday and asked to report at the police by 10 am today.
“So we are already working with our lawyers to look for an extension of time, but this does not legitimize the charges by the Nigerian police to the Congress leadership, and secondly, we resolve that in the event our Congress President was arrested or detained at any moment, we put our affiliate on red alert to mobilize our membership across the country, that all workers in this country should down tool their services.
“This is the resolution because Comrades, this organization belongs to all of us, therefore we should do everything possible to safeguard the safety of this organization. We, therefore, thank you very much, and you should wait for further directives from our leadership.
“Whatever happens, we will communicate your leadership, and your leadership will communicate you. So we urge you to remain calm and go back peacefully to our working place and await further directives.”
