The President of the Nigerian Labour Congress, Comrade Joe Ajero has accused the Independent National Electoral Çommission, INEC of being responsible for the current crisis rocking the Labour Party......See Full Story>>.....See Full Story>>
Ajero made the disclosure on Monday when Giant of Women in Media, led by Clementina Olomu, paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Abuja.
He said INEC is deliberately refusing to recognize the Caretaker Committee, set up at the Umuahia meeting of Labour Party stakeholders in which NLC was represented.
He further disclosed that INEC knew that the consent judgement delivered before the 2023 general election was between the NLC and another group that accepted Julius Abure, whose tenure had elapsed, noting any Labour Party assembly that NLC is not included cannot work because they have a constitution on how things are done in the party,
“INEC cannot play politics with the LP. I can tell you that INEC knew that. At the Umuahia Stakeholders’ meeting, the NLC was represented and INEC knew that the consent judgement was between the NLC and another group that accepted Julius Abure. I can also tell you categorically that any Labour Party assembly that the NLC is not included cannot work because they have constitution on how things are done in the party,
“If INEC was the one that facilitated this and the consent judgement now which INEC has seen to actualize the consent judgement as an agreement by all stakeholders and recognized by the court then it means INEC is playing politics by refusing to abide by the outcome of the Umuahia meeting and that is a fact.
“Abure and his group were invited also all Governorship candidates and 2023 presidential candidate were there, members of the National Assembly, senators and House of Representatives were also there, then who is INEC to say no. It means INEC is playing politics with the Labour Party.
“They should not distort the electoral processes in Nigeria. And I keep asking, who is INEC waiting for to be in that meeting to recognize it. Even the meeting set aside the National Transition Committee LP-NTC , to be neutral to find way of moving forward.
“The INEC can confirm that the Labour party has an institutional membership. Our trustee membership of the part, can’t be whipped away. So what is our offence and it is on record that we have never asked the LP leadership of how much they make; so we have the right to ask even when some of them are not following our ideology. From what you can see, there is no trade unionist under the Labour Party in the National Assembly. So I don’t know why it has become a big issue to them that NLC formed a political party just like the military came and formed the PDP even most of them in other sectors formed parties.
On the October 1st celebration, the NLC President said, “The government said the NLC does not celebrate October 1st. We don’t go to the stadium nor hold match past, it is just like any other October 1st, when we listen to our leaders and discover whether they have focused on the essence of both political and economic independence and we now assess what the country has achieved 64 years after independence. Where are we and where did we start, then do a comparative analysis.
“We all knew the celebration of Empire Day during British empire but do we have such enthusiasm to celebrate our own independence nowadays? Those questions are left for; Nigerians to answer, most especially those who witnessed pre/and post-independence days.
“I think that is the essence of Independence Day which is symbolic and the same goes for any country on the day they gain their economic or political independence and the labour movement is part of the country, when things are good we celebrate but when they are bad we lament.”