Organized labor, represented by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), has issued a directive to halt electricity and fuel supplies in Imo State. This decision comes in response to the recent incident in which the National President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero, was assaulted by members of the Nigeria Police Force.
Additionally, labor centers have called on aviation workers to suspend flights to and from Imo State. These actions were agreed upon during an extraordinary meeting of the National Executive Council, convened by the TUC and NUC on a Tuesday afternoon.
In a communique released at the end of the meeting, it was stated, “The NEC-in-session orders the immediate withdrawal of services and shutdown of Imo State beginning at midnight today. All workers and affiliates are expected to ensure compliance from wherever they are. All flights into and out of Imo state, fuel supplies, and electricity are to be halted immediately. Public and private sector workers are instructed to down tools indefinitely.” The implementation is set to begin at midnight on November 8, 2023.
Earlier, Organized Labor, comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress, had issued a five-day ultimatum in response to the arrest of the NLC’s National President, Joe Ajaero, by the police in Owerri, Imo State. The labor centers demanded the redeployment of the state’s commissioner of police and the arrest and prosecution of a government aide alleged to be involved in the attack. They also threatened to launch a nationwide industrial action if their demands were not met within five days from that announcement.
Joe Ajaero was detained by the police before a planned state-wide protest in Imo. While the police claimed that Ajaero was taken into protective custody to prevent a potential mob attack, Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma accused the labor leader of interfering in the state’s political affairs.
The assault on Joe Ajaero has garnered condemnation from various prominent figures in Nigeria, including the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, and human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN).