NLC President: Governors Have Made Abuja Their Permanent Home

The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero, stated on Monday that no governor has powers to ban labor unions, noting that union practice falls under the executive legislative list in the Constitution.

Ajaero was reacting to the proscription of labor unions in state-owned tertiary institutions by former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, at a town hall meeting with workers at the NLC Secretariat, Lokoja, the state capital.

The NLC president, who expressed surprise that such a thing exists in the state, reiterated that state governments lack the right to proscribe unions under the exclusive legislative list.

Ajaero, who also noted that the leadership had visited five zones, regretted that the governors were always absent, having traveled to Abuja, lamenting that most governors are now living permanently in Abuja at the detriment of their states.

While stressing that workers were feeling the heat of the harsh economic realities, with the high cost of living, Ajaero noted that for the government to contemplate increasing tariffs on telecom, it was pushing workers too far.