We’ll disown Peter Obi if he adopts IMF, World Bank policies — NLC, Ajaero

Joe Ajaero, the president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), declared that if Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s (LP) nominee for president in 2023, were to win the presidency of Nigeria and implement World Bank and International Monetary Fund policies, the labour union would abandon him.

This was said by Ajaero on Tuesday during a conversation with Channels Television. He called the NLC’s stance on the elimination of the power and petrol subsidies “fixated.”

Ajaero went on to say that any president of the trade Party who adopted the IMF’s ideas would face stiff opposition from the trade union. “He (Obi) is the Labour Party presidential candidate, but does he own the NLC or the Labour Party?” the NLC President remarked. Why can’t you separate them?

“Whosoever is the presidential candidate or official of the Labour Party must buy into our projects. If he says he was going to undertake those policies, let him be elected and try such policies.

“Whether a presidential candidate of a party that Labour forms would dictate for Labour? The answer is known to everybody. The policies of Labour, the ideologies of Labour are clear and we are going to pursue it.

“If anybody is coming with another ideology, he is going to have it tough with us because that is not what we stand for.

“It (our approach) would have been the worst for anybody flying the flag of the Labour Party to come and implement these policies, to come and adopt the policies of the IMF and the World Bank.

“It would have been worse for the person. In fact, we would disown the person, he would be on his own. We have to make this distinction clear.”

Speaking on the issue of electricity tariff hike and inflation, Ajaero said the recent increase by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and distribution companies in the country must be immediately reversed.

He said, “Unknown to people, this issue of tariff increase is determined by inflation and the value of the currency.

“NERC takes these two major variables to determine tariff increase. Unknown to the same NERC, each time you increase tariff, it leads to another inflation which within few months, they would see demand for another tariff increase. And this is happening on and on and there is no control over it.”

Recall that, on April 3, 2024, NERC raised electricity tariff for customers enjoying 20 hours power supply daily.

The increase saw the customers paying N225 kilowatt per hour from the current N66, a development that has been met with criticism by many Nigerians.

The NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) subsequently picketed NERC offices and discos on Monday to press home their demands.

But, Ajaero kicked against the “politics of reduction” embarked upon by NERC in recent times.

He said reduction after tariff increase won’t stand, insisting that NERC and discos must first reverse the tariff to the old rates and come to the negotiation table with labour unions and other stakeholders on an agreeable way forward.