NIGERIA: The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, has accused the administration of President Bola Tinubu of failing to meaningfully engage organised labour, alleging that the government has become aloof and disconnected from the congress.
Ajaero made the allegation on Saturday during the latest episode of the Mic On Podcast, while recounting the events that culminated in the NLC’s planned nationwide protest in December 2025, reports Vanguard.
According to him, the NLC made repeated attempts to open discussions with the Federal Government but received no response to correspondence sent to Tinubu between May and December 2025.
“For the past two to three years, it’s not government that is engaging. This government doesn’t engage,” Ajaero said.
The NLC president alleged that the government only became responsive whenever organised labour resorted to public action to press its demands.
“It’s only when people engage; they now say A, B, C, D. So they are aloof,” he said.
Ajaero said the congress eventually scheduled December 17, 2025, for a street protest after its attempts to secure the president’s attention failed.
He, however, disclosed that some state governors subsequently intervened, resulting in a meeting between labour leaders and the governors.
According to him, the intervention eventually led to an interface with the government, although subsequent engagements had been limited.
“And 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.
Ajaero alleged that despite the meetings, the government had continued with its programmes without adequately addressing the concerns raised by organised labour.
“And those issues, from December last year to now, they are just doing their business. Everybody is their enemy,” he added.
His comments come amid renewed tension between organised labour and the Federal Government following a three-day warning strike threatened by public servants under the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC).
The council had demanded a reduction in petrol prices to N500 per litre and the approval of a new wage award for workers, among other demands.
