Ajaero Emerges NLC President As Wabba Bows Out

The National Executive Committee of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has named Joe Ajaero as its new president.

Ajaero, who was deputy president of the congress emerged through a consensus as successor to former leader, Ayuba Wabba who ended his eight-year tenure, yesterday. He was the sole candidate for the office of the union president and had also served as General Secretary of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE).

He served in the Presidential Committee on Power Sector Reforms, set up by the late ex-President Umaru Yar’Adua.

In his acceptance speech, Ajaero pledged his dedication to the issues of workers concerns and welfare.

“We shall once again be the guide of the Nigerian people, we shall cry their cry,” he said.

He commended the former NLC President, Ayuba Wabba for what he termed resilience even in the face of difficulties.

He said this on Wednesday in his inauguration address delivered after he was sworn in as President of the NLC in Abuja.

Ajaero was elected president of the NLC at the 13th National Delegates Conference at the International Conference Centre Abuja.

He said: “The NLC will pursue with utmost urgency a new national minimum wage law that would take into consideration the objective realities of our socio-economy; expand its reach to capture more workers and create variables and thresholds for automatic adjustment of the nation’s wage floor to avoid unnecessary politicking and impunity by our employers and reduce the suffering of Nigerian workers.

“We are committed to resolutely pursuing the interests and desires of Nigerian workers and by extension the majority of Nigerian masses. We, therefore, pledge our loyalty to the NLC, Nigerian workers, Nigerian masses and Nigeria. Our breathe comrades, our thoughts and our actions shall be propelled by this avowal!

“We shall seek to reconnect more strongly to build greater solidarities with the people of Nigeria rising once again to be the carriers of their desires and amplifiers of their voices.

“We shall not only speak for the 133m Nigerians who are multidimensionally poor but shall also seek platforms to lift the shackles of poverty from the shoulders of our people. We shall once again be the true champions of the Nigerian people; crying their cries and jointly waging our wars against all forces of impoverishment and misery.”

The labour leader said the NLC would engage the Federal Government on how to cut down on the cost of governance; cut out fats and reduce the opportunities for fat cats to raid the economy.

Wabba was first elected in 2015 and then re-elected in 2019.He stepped down officially from the NLC’s leadership during the 13th Quadrennial National Delegate held in Abuja