President of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Joe Ajaero, has dismissed insinuations by the Labour Party National Chairman, Julius Abure, that he was inching towards declaring a political aspiration, using the platform of the party.
Both factions of the Labour Party led by Julius Abure and the Lamidi Apapa had had accused Ajaero of wanting to use the platform of the Labour Party to actualise his political aspiration for the presidency.
Also, on Thursday, Abure described the blockade of the national headquarters of the party by the NLC on Wednesday as a show of shame and rascality.
This was as the deputy national chairman of the party, Ayo Olorunfemi, has said it was “absurd” for the NLC to claim ownership of the party.
However, reacting to claims he had ambition during an interaction with newsmen, Ajaero insisted “I have no ambition. I am only trying to finish what my predecessors started.
“Somebody said Ajaero wants to be president in 2027. Have I filled the form of any political party? What I am doing now, is it different from what other presidents of NLC did?
“Abdulwaheed Omar president was during the time of Dan Iwuanyawu. He even had to boycott the convention in Ondo State and set up a caretaker committee then.
“What I am trying to implement now is the MoU signed between Ayuba Wabba and Julius Abure. I have not even done anything. They were in court. It was Femi Falana that rescued it and there is no convention that brought Abure.
“So, for trying to enforce the MoU has become that I want to be president. It wasn’t that Ayuba or Omar wanted to be President. I am following the trajectory.”
But Abure, who described the blockade of the national headquarters as a show of shame and rascality, said, “What we saw was a show of shame, a show of rascality, an abuse of office and an abuse of the law of the land.”
In a late night statement by the National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, Abure said, “Nigeria Labour congress is subject to the law. NLC under Joe Ajaero is not above the law and the law precludes Ajaero and the leadership of NLC to take law into their hands.
“Where they besieged the office, broke the fence, destroy the gates, unlawfully took possession of the Secretariat and destroyed properties worth millions of naira.
“Properties stolen including monies made for the payment of salaries and other official purposes. This is unfortunate. It is becoming unbecoming.
“I must state today that the leadership of NLC under Joe Ajaero is on the part of destroying the successes we have recorded in the 2023 general election.”
The deputy national chairman of the party, Olorunfemi, in a chat with Arise TV, said the Labour Party was owned by “Nigerian workers” and not NLC.
He added that the “TUC, NLC, professional bodies and the informal sector of the economy… and they are all owners of the Labour Party.
“The Labour Party belongs to Nigerian workers, not NLC. The earlier we understand this, the better,” Olurunfemi said.
Chuks Okocha
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