The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Wednesday elected the General Secretary of the Nigerian Union of Electricity Employees, Comrade Joseph Ajaero, as its new national president.
Ajaero, who until his emergence as president was the deputy national president of the labour union, made history by emerging unopposed as the union’s president at the end of the 13th National Delegates Conference of the union in Abuja on Wednesday.
The conference, which began on Tuesday, February 7, at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, is expected to end on Wednesday with the election of new national officers for a 4-year period.
New NLC President vows to mobilize workers against naira scarcity
Ajaero in his acceptance speech 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 is reduced to the barest minimum while the government is assisted to work for the majority. We shall therefore robustly engage the 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.
Ajaero succeeds Ayuba Wabba, whose tenure as NLC national president ends Wednesday, February 8, 2023.
For the record
Joe Ajaero, who was born on December 17, 1964, in Emekuku Owerri-North, Imo State, 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.
