‎Ajaero’s detention anniversary: We remain unbroken – NLC

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has declared that its President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, remains “unbroken” one year after his arrest and detention at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

In a statement signed by its Acting General Secretary, Benson Upah, the NLC said September 9, 2024, “remains a day etched in infamy in the annals of our movement and our democratic journey.”

‎According to the Congress, Ajaero’s arrest was a politically motivated attempt to silence dissenting voices and weaken the labour movement.

‎ “His offence was daring to speak out against the abridgement of citizen rights, exposing the grinding poverty and exploitation, job insecurity, and deteriorating conditions of life in our country,” the statement read.

‎The NLC recalled that Ajaero had earlier been abducted and brutalised in Owerri, Imo State, an incident for which no one has been prosecuted despite promises by the National Security Adviser (NSA).

Upah said the airport arrest and subsequent charges of cybercrime, conspiracy and treason were part of a wider campaign to stifle labour and shield Nigeria’s ruling elite from scrutiny.

‎“By preventing our President from attending the UK Trade Union Congress (TUC) conference, the State sought to silence the truth, isolate Nigerian workers from international solidarity, and pave the way for neoliberal policies without resistance,” the NLC maintained.

‎The labour centre argued that the repression backfired, as the action only provoked outrage at home and abroad and re-energised the struggle for workers’ rights.

‎“Far from weakening us, it underscored the central truth of history: every attack on the working class only strengthens our resolve to struggle,” the statement added.

‎Marking the one-year anniversary, the NLC urged Nigerian workers not to despair but to intensify mobilisation against policies such as privatisation, subsidy removal, wage suppression and casualisation, which it described as anti-poor.

‎“Repression is the language of a system desperate to protect the privileges of a few against the needs of the many. The answer is not retreat but mobilisation; not silence but louder voices; not despair but greater organisation,” Upah stressed.

‎The Congress also called for unity across trade unions, peasants, youth, and progressive forces, while reaffirming its role as the backbone of democracy and social justice in Nigeria.

‎“One year after, we reaffirm the lesson of September 9, 2024: the working class is the backbone of democracy and social justice. Attempts to silence us will always fail, for our strength lies in unity, solidarity, and in our unbreakable commitment to the sovereignty of our nation,” the statement said.

‎‎The NLC assured Nigerian workers that it would not be cowed.

‎”On this note, we want to assure all Nigerian workers and masses that we remain unbowed, unshaken and unbroken. We remain resolute,” Upah concluded.