NLC: Ignore Joe Ajaero’s demand — House of Rep member tells FG

Owerri- The member representing Ohaji/Egbema/Oru West/Oguta at the Federal House of Representative, Eugine Dibiagwu, on Monday called on the federal government to ignore the demands of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, led by Joe Ajaero.

Dibiagwu stated this to newsmen in Owerri, while reacting to Ajaero’s demands over an alleged attack in Imo that led to his being allegedly arrested and beaten up during his planned strike protest in Imo last Wednesday.

The lawmaker who is also the national leader of the Imo Progressives Movement, IPM, said the NLC President came to Imo to fulfill his part of alleged secret meetings with governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party ,PDP, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, to destabiise Imo for political reasons.

According to the federal lawmaker, “Joe Ajaero is fully aware that his attackers were angry members of his union who got infuriated with him over his dictatorial tendencies, particularly his determination to dislodge the authentic leadership of the NLC in the state. He is aware that he was neither abducted nor arrested, rather he was defended and protected by the police. So, Ajaero’s decision to blame his ordeal on the State Government and the police was simply part of of the PDP’s script to create crisis that would cause a regime change in Imo and also blackmail the police authorities into sacking the competent Commissioner of Police in the Imo state.

“There was never any time that the Imo state chapter of the NLC made complaints to Ajaero about any dispute with the State Government. Who then invited Ajaero to Imo state for a protest? Since Imo NLC never registered any displeasure against the Government, what was Ajaero’s mission in the State? Obviously, he was keeping his part of his bargain with the PDP.

“What Imo people must know is that the fundamental issue here is that a series of secret meetings had held in Abuja between Joe Ajaero and some frontline PDP campaign managers of Samdaddy’s governorship project in which certain resolutions were reached. First, Ajaero was promised that he would nominate the Secretary to the State Government in Imo if PDP wins the governorship election in the state. And, second, Ajaero was promised the PDP senatorial ticket for Owerri zone in 2027. These are the political motives that have driven Ajaero to break the law and lend himself as a vessel for the destruction of Imo state!”

“By cutting off power supply to Imo state, Ajaero has proven that he is indeed determined to crush the ordinary people in Imo who cannot afford alternative sources of energy. How can this same man claim he is fighting for the people? This is the reason Imo people must now unite and rebuke this common enemy who is bent on sinking the entire state just to realize his selfish political ambitions.

“In clear terms, the summary of the deal is to throw Imo into darkness, anarchy and a very bitter political crisis, so as to compel the Federal Government to sack the heads of the security agencies in the State. This is the only way the PDP is plotting to whittle down the effectiveness of the security establishment and pave the way for the importation of armed militants from Edo and Rivers states into the state for the governorship election. This is the greatest strategy of the fated PDP. But we can assure them that is already dead on arrival. So we call on the federal government to ignore Ajaero.

“Finally, IPM passes vote of absolute confidence in the Imo State Commissioner of Police and the Director of State Security Service, and urges the Federal Government to completely ignore the mischievous demands by the opposition and their affiliates to tinker with the security leadership in Imo state, given that the ploy of the opposition is unarguably to cause the breakdown of law and order so as to overrun the state during the Saturday’s governorship election.

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Reacting, the Director of New Media, of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Lancelot Obiaku, said: “The PDP has no dealing with the NLC. That statement is false. The PDP has no dealings. NLC only demonstrated their rights. Are you saying that people have no right to demonstrate in Imo again? It is freedom of expression. What is the government afraid of.”