General Secretary of the Nigerian Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), Comrade Joe Ajaero, has made history by emerging unopposed as the new President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
The coast became clear for the veteran labour activist at the International Conference Centre Abuja when it became confirmed at the Opening Ceremony of 13th National Delegates Conference (NDC) of NLC that he has no challenger for the plum office.
“History is already being made here. This is the first time a President of the Nigeria Labour Congress will be elected as a consensus candidate,” one of the delegates, Prince Emeka Kalu, National Vice President (South-East), Radio, Television, Theatre and Arts Workers’ Union of Nigeria (RATTAWU), told News Express in Abuja.
He noted that though the election holds today (February 8), “Ajaero has already emerged as 13th President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)”.
Ajaero succeeds Comrade Ayuba Wabba, whose tenure as NLC President ends with today’s election.
In his acceptance speech, the new NLC president vowed to mobilise members against the current scarcity of Naira notes if the government failed to address the issue by the end of next week.
He said, “NLC shall continue in its tradition of ensuring that Nigerians are protected from all anti-people policies and that plunder in governance are reduced to the barest minimum while government is assisted to work for the majority. We shall therefore robustly engage government to stop the impunity and pervasive wickedness currently going on in the country in the name of petroleum product pricing.
“The usurpation and use of state power to impoverish the citizenry abuses the ideals of democracy and destroys the nation. Governance ought to provide comfort for the citizenry, so it pains us to witness the increasing frustrations Nigerians have had to go through in the last few months just to fuel their cars and generators, the new phenomenon of black market Naira-buying our own monies at a discount from illegal brokers.
“We will definitely not keep quiet in the face of this deliberate defilement of citizenship by the ruling elite as we may mobilise variously across the nation to nudge the government to act more responsibly towards the citizenry and seek ways of alleviating the suffering that currently walks our streets with arrogance,” Ajaero declared.
Born on December 17, 1964, in Emekuku Owerri-North, Imo State, Ajaero has been the NLC deputy president since 2011. He has been the general secretary of the NUEE since 2005. He was Research Officer One Mechanised Infantry Division Nigerian Army Kaduna between 1990 and 1991 (NYSC); Reporter/Correspondent and Assistant News Editor at Vanguard Newspapers 1992 – 2001; and Head of Training/Information, NUEE 2001 – 2005.
