The Chairman Of the Nigerian Labour Congress, Joe Ajero, has reportedly been arrested by the operatives of the Department of the State Services.
The arrest, according to different media reports, took place on Monday morning at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, when the NLC president was on his way to London for an official assignment.
The NLC it was learned that was part of the individuals to attend the Trade Union Congress conference in London, which begins today.
Condtmeing the arrest, the NLC, in a post on its X handle, noted that the arrest was an insult to the citizens of the country and condemned the abduction.
The NLC has also put all other affiliate unions on red alert following the abduction. In an earlier move, the NLC had initially mobilised its members and affiliate unions to be ready for a strike in case of the NLC chairman’s arrest.
He called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the two incidents and demonstrate that he does not endorse arbitrary arrests, detention incommunicado, and the repression of labour and civil society actors.
The statement concludes by calling for the release of Ajaero and the cessation of the siege on the offices of SERAP.
In addition, in reaction, the National Coordinator of the Take It Back Movement, Juwon Sanyaolu, had described both cases as dictatorships, where the President exercises total control over all institutions, including the judiciary and parliament.
He called for the unity of trade unions, civil society, and the media to resist the dictatorship wave and defend the Nigerian people’s economic interests.
Both NLC and SERAP in the past week have condemned the increase in the price of PMS in the country. On Tuesday, the NLC noted that the president betrayed them after accepting the N70,000 minimum wage.
SERAP, on the other hand, called for the reversal of the pump price of the product in the country.
