Oshiomole to NLC: Your Strike is Driven by Political Motives

Senator Adam Oshiomhole, a former president of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), has accused the body and Trade Union Congress (TUC) of embarking on a strike that is misplaced.

According to him, it’s President, Joe Ajaero, was using the NLC to pursue political motives which won’t augur well for him and the body.

Accusing the current NLC president of being driven by personal interests and political involvement, Oshiomhole, a former governor of Edo State said rather than dissipate energy on the strike, it should be the task of the organised labour to now work for the implementation of agreements reached with government over the alleviation of poverty in the country.

Oshiomhole, however, said he did not support brutalisation of any Nigerian, including the labour leader.

“Let me be clear. I do not support the brutalisation of any Nigerian. I emphasise, any Nigerian, including a journalist, including the unemployed, of course, including labour leader,” he said.

The former APC national chairman said, based on what he termed “hierarchy of needs” and the current challenges facing Nigerians, the issue of minimum of wage should have been their concern.

“So if you mobilise private sector workers, state workers, local government workers, and now there is an agreement on N35,000 across the board, I want to see NLC saying there will be no sleep in any state where this is not being implemented,” he said.

Like Uzodimma, Oshiomhole suggested that the NLC president was being driven by political motives, rather than interests of the country’s workers.

The former governor of Edo State said he would have supported NLC on the on-going industrial action if its demands were based on the workers’ minimum wage and welfare.

“Unfortunately, this strike is not about those issues. And I think we have to be careful not to mix our political opinion with our responsibilities, because the issues confronting workers are so many that they should become the priority,” he said.

The former Labour leader suggested that the NLC president was supporting a candidate in the governorship election in Imo State.

“We must recognise that however hard you try, when it comes to politics, people are going to have different reasons for supporting different candidates. You have to be careful not to be seen to be doing the bidding of a particular candidate or a particular political party,” he said.