The Labour Party (LP) on Wednesday strongly condemned the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) over what it described as a “subtle blackmail” following threats by the union to invade its offices nationwide.
The party accused the NLC of attempting to portray the Julius Abure-led leadership as illegitimate in the eyes of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies.
This comes a day after NLC President, Joe Ajaero, instructed union leaders across the country to begin mobilising their members to take over the 36 state offices and the national secretariat of the Labour Party. Ajaero’s call followed a Supreme Court ruling last Friday which vacated an earlier judgment against the LP leadership.
In the Party in a statement through it National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh in Abuja issued a strongly warning that any such attempt would be resisted by the party and its supporters. He accused the NLC leadership of overstepping its bounds and attempting to interfere in the internal affairs of a political party without legal grounds.
“We therefore see NLC’s latest threat as pure blackmail on the Independent National Electoral Commission and security agencies to do the wrong thing,” Ifoh said.
He recalled a similar incident on March 21, 2024, where aggrieved unionists allegedly broke into the party’s headquarters and carted away sensitive documents and funds.
“Threats to attack offices and organisations have become the hallmark of the NLC under Ajaero. In 2024, NLC forcefully broke into our national headquarters, carting away valuables. That matter was reported to the police,” Ifoh stated.
He described the actions and rhetoric of the NLC president as unbecoming of a union leader, accusing Ajaero of politicising the labour movement.
“Ajaero should by now learn that attacking law-abiding citizens, hooliganism, and rascality are not traits of a good unionist. He should be more concerned about workers’ welfare. He has since politicised the Labour Union in Nigeria, and he is no longer fit to occupy that exalted office,” the LP spokesperson said.
Ifoh further noted that the NLC has no jurisdiction over the party’s internal affairs since there is no existing trade dispute between the two.
“We must state categorically that NLC has no right to attack any Labour Party office because there is no trade dispute. Based on the Trade Dispute Act, you cannot picket or declare a strike without a trade dispute. In any case, we do not have any staff of the NLC in our employment. There is no union in our offices. Their action is purely an illegality,” he added.
Citing the recent Supreme Court judgment, Ifoh explained that the judiciary made it clear that party leadership issues fall within the internal affairs of political parties and are outside the jurisdiction of the courts.
“The Supreme Court stated that courts cannot interfere in the internal affairs of a political party. The courts didn’t sack the NWC nor hold the tenure to have lapsed. We advise Joe Ajaero and his ilk to seek legal advice if they cannot comprehend a simple court pronouncement,” he said.
Ifoh warned that any attempt to resort to self-help would be met with legal consequences and resistance from party loyalists across the country.
“Let it be known that we will take every legal means to deal with Ajaero and his gangsters should they attempt to resort to self-help. We will not hesitate to write to the Registrar of Trade Unions to discipline them if they resort to taking the law into their own hands,” he declared.
“we will seek the protection of the security agencies, but where they defy the security agencies, we will have no option but to mobilise our members across the nation to resist them,” the statement concluded.