By Iyiola Olalere
The Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG) has accused the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress NLC of attempting to blackmail the Presidency over his recent invitation by the Police authorities.
In a statement signed by its Chairman Emeka Nwankpa and Secretary Dapo Okubanjo, the group argued that the labour leader’s claim of betrayal was more about a Police investigation into an alleged criminal conspiracy and subversion than national issues concerning the workforce.
The statement reads, “We have carefully scrutinized the statement signed in person by the NLC President, Joe Ajaero and what immediately caught our attention is a concealed anger over a Police invitation which should normally have passed as procedural in investigations. Instead of helping the Police in its investigations, the labour leader made a public issue of it blackmailing the federal government with threats and subterfuge.
“This is observed in the manner by which he spent so much time accusing the government, albeit erroneously, of using the Police and security agencies to ‘terrorise the citizenry with a view to muzzling lawful dissent’.
“Of course, it was obvious to us that Ajaero was speaking to the issue of a recent Police raid on a bookshop in the NLC headquarters in Abuja for which he had been invited for a second time by Police investigators after the bookshop owner, Andrew Wynne also known as Drew Povey and Andrew Povich had been declared wanted.
“The Police had accused the British bookshop owner of sponsoring the recent protests which they said were targeted at overthrowing the government, and for us, it seems like Ajaero may have close links to the man.
“It is instructive that the Briton had after he was declared wanted, said from hiding, that one of the people standing trial for treason was Ajaero’s former colleague in the electricity workers union while calling on the NLC to fight to protect its officials just like it recently protected its President.
“We do not think that it is a coincidence that he issued the statement the day after the wanted Briton urged NLC to fight for those standing trial.
“Back to Ajaero’s statement, we wonder what could have led him to accuse the state and security forces of picking on him in a ‘hybrid war’ when all the Police did was to go after a foreigner which it said provided financial support for a subversive act.
“It is common knowledge that the Trade Union Congress (TUC) was part of the minimum wage negotiations with government but its President, Festus Usifo has not been invited by the Police. He is also not known to have raised any dust over Police investigation into the recent protests.
“Or is there more to Ajaero’s relationship with Drew Povey beyond being a tenant at the NLC headquarters?
“On his claim that President Tinubu
provided Labour the choice of N250,000 with new fuel pump price before both sides agreed on N70,000, we have it on good record from those who were in the meeting that it was never an option.
“It is even laughable that Ajaero accused the federal government of implementing ‘ferocious right wing policies’ when he openly supported a presidential candidate that publicly vowed to introduce similar policies if elected President.
“As for the NLC President’s position that the Presidency had usurped the duties of the Ministry of Labour and Employment in trade disputes, it is a matter of public record that Ajaero and his TUC counterpart praised the President for taking over the minimum wage negotiations.
“And going through the list of his demands, we make bold to say that the reversal of the latest fuel price increase is just a red herring for Ajaero’s real intention of pushing for the release of those standing trial.
TMSG urged the NLC President to take a cue from his TUC counterpart and desist from using an ongoing and unresolved national issue as a ploy to stop an ongoing investigation into subversive activities of a nation which he is a leader of its Labour unions.
