Trade union veterans and the assembly of trade unionists, yesterday, demanded the removal of Labour Party (LP) National Chairman, Julius Abure; and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Joe Ajaero.
They criticised the two for allegedly turning the workers’ party into a political travesty through their corrupt practices.
Veteran labour leader, Isah Tijjani, who spoke on behalf of others, made the demand for their removal in Abuja, during a press briefing.
He lamented an alleged show of shame, being exhibited by Abure and Ajaero.
He noted that instead of upholding the noble ideals of the party, “a handful of avaricious, power hungry political fraudsters, had deployed criminal subterfuges through which they had succeeded in turning the nation’s promising workers’ party into a political travesty”.
He said: “The cumulative effect of this unfortunate development is that the political prospects signaled by the entry of this popular party into the contest for power in our dear country are fast eroding into an unfathomable oblivion.
“This disagreeable decadence gripping the party is being given tangible expression by the irony of the corrupt party leaders closing the gate of the party firmly against millions of workers willing to joyously join the party.
“Regrettably, as we speak, this pathetic situation has continued unabated, because the NLC, which is supposed to play its rightful role as the collective conscience of the party, woefully failed to rise to this enormous responsibility, which she treats with unforgivable levity and reckless abandon.”
The veterans claimed that at the root of the challenges was the culture of selfishness, under which the very “obstinate and highly egocentric President of NLC,” Joe Ajaero, had been deeply enmeshed.
Tijjani also said the unwholesome reality partly explained why in recent times, the NLC, under Joe Ajaero, continued to register huge losses in the field of industrial relations and in the battle to recover and reposition the Labour Party.
He said: “The legion of labour veterans is intimately familiar with the damning records of financial sleaze said to have been flagrantly perpetrated by the National Chairman of LP, Julius Abure.
“This familiarity has emboldened the rank and file of our members nationwide, to spontaneously join the many well-meaning and patriotic groups and highly spirited individuals, who are calling for the immediate arrest and trial of Mr Julius Abure.
“We strongly believe that his trial and subsequent conviction will serve as a deterrent to aspiring younger politicians, particularly those from the trade unions background. In this connection, our good members are hereby strongly reaffirming their cardinal demand, that Abure must go.
He added: “Our members will not despair, in pointing the many failings of Joe Ajaero, especially in the sphere of labour unionism, which clearly demonstrate that his well known choleric temperament and overly undemocratic character, have combined to make him totally unsuitable for labour leadership.” (Guardian)
