After its headquarters were invaded on Wednesday, the Labour Party has formally requested government institutions to urgently intervene and protect the party from further aggression by the Nigeria Labour Congress.
The party has sent separate letters to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume; Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi; Ministry of Labour and Employment and Registrar of Trade Unions, Falonipe Amos, also calling for disciplinary action against the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, and other union leaders involved in the alleged vandalization of its property.
This demand comes shortly after LP's National Chairman, Julius Abure, expressed regret over the loss of property worth millions of naira and staff salaries during the siege.
The conflict between the NLC and the leadership of LP intensified on Wednesday when the union members picketed the party’s secretariats nationwide.
This action was to emphasize their call for Abure’s resignation.
The protesting workers were seen besieging LP's national headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday, chanting solidarity songs and displaying banners with the message 'Abure must go' among others.
However, security personnel stationed in the area prevented them from entering the party's secretariat to maintain order.
Despite this, the LP national chairman asserted that the union members forcibly entered their offices, causing damage worth millions of naira and stealing money meant for staff salaries.
On Friday, the party petitioned the Federal Government, demanding sanctions against Ajaero and his supporters for intimidating their members and vandalizing their properties.
According to a statement from the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, reports claiming that the NLC owns the Labour party are false.
Ifoh also called on the Federal Government, as the regulatory agency for trade unions, to define the role of the NLC, particularly in relation to its alleged ownership of LP and its consistent harassment and interference in the party’s activities.
He stated, “Ajaero has overstepped by using workers' funds to picket and sponsor unrest at the Labour Party headquarters, which is an abuse of office that should be rectified and appropriately penalized. Your urgent intervention is necessary, as the regulatory agency for trade unions, including the NLC.
“It is our contention that using workers' funds to picket and sponsor unrest in the Labour Party headquarters and its legitimate leadership is an abuse of office by the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, and should be rectified and properly penalized. Furthermore, the NLC has no authority to picket an organization where there is no trade dispute, as the Labour Party has no staff members who are NLC members.
The NLC's actions clearly break the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act, the Trade Union Act, and other laws. NLC members are not official members of the Labour Party. The Labour Party can't be controlled by any group. Membership in the party is individual. The Labour Party's rules say it's open to all Nigerians who agree with its beliefs, programs, and constitution, no matter their religion, ethnicity, gender, social status, or economic status.
As law-abiding citizens, we chose not to confront them in an uncivilized way to prevent a breakdown of law and order. We also had the option to gather party members to face them.
Doing that now, when the tough economic situation is hurting the Nigerian people, will cause chaos. So, there's an urgent need to control the NLC and its leader Joe Ajaero, educate them about their limits, criticize their bad behavior and misuse of power, and discipline them as needed.
