NLC hits back at ex-PHCN manager over Ajaero claims

NLC hits back at ex-PHCN manager over Ajaero claims

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has strongly defended its President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, against allegations made by a former manager of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), describing the claims as a “sponsored” attempt to discredit the labour leader and weaken the workers’ movement.

In a lengthy statement titled, “The manager who never joined the union now preaches workers’ rights; A sponsored deception exposed,” the NLC accused the former PHCN official of spreading “baseless allegations” against Ajaero through a publication in SaharaReporters.

The Congress described the report as “an obvious hatchet job” and “an obvious assignment from known enemies of Nigerian workers and their heroic leaders.”

“We would have chosen to ignore this obvious hatchet job which was an obvious assignment from known enemies of Nigerian workers and their heroic leaders,” the statement read.

“However, we consider this a welcome opportunity to once again expose the irresponsibility of our oppressors and their lackeys, and to demonstrate the lengths to which they will go to demonise the champions of Nigerian workers in pursuit of their clear but hidden agenda.”

The NLC maintained that Ajaero had consistently opposed the privatisation of the electricity sector while serving as General Secretary of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE).

According to the Congress, “Comrade Joe Ajaero, as General Secretary of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), led the most fierce and principled opposition to the privatisation of the power sector under former President Goodluck Jonathan.”

It added that Ajaero had warned at the time that the exercise was a “grand deception,” describing it as “a fraudulent transfer of public wealth to investors who lacked both technical capacity and financial strength, who borrowed heavily from Nigerian banks and now expect workers to pay for their loans through outrageous tariffs.”

The labour centre argued that events since the privatisation have vindicated Ajaero’s position.

“As the NLC President has consistently argued, over a decade after privatisation, generation remains at the same 4,000 to 5,000 megawatts recorded before the exercise, while Nigerians suffer frequent grid collapses and soaring tariffs. The privatisation was not designed to improve supply; it was designed to divide the system so that a handful of speculators could profit from public assets.”

The Congress also rejected allegations that labour leaders diverted workers’ 10 per cent equity share in the successor companies created after PHCN’s unbundling.

“The 10 per cent equity share agreement was a product of collective bargaining. It was not agreed that it was going to be gifted for free to workers.”

It challenged the former manager directly, asking, “Did he pay for the allotment of shares, or did the unions hijack the process for their own use?”

According to the NLC, “The truth is that the Government, through the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), is yet to allot the 10 per cent equity to workers as agreed, despite sustained pressure from the unions.”

The Congress further insisted that labour unions had not stolen workers’ equity.

“Neither NUEE, SSAEC nor Electricity sector of NUP did not steal your equity; the government never gave it. We are still fighting for it while you were busy enjoying your exit package in silence.”

Addressing claims relating to unpaid salaries and gratuities, the NLC said agreements signed in 2012 and reaffirmed in 2019 covered workers’ entitlements, including exit benefits, gratuities, death benefits, salary arrears, post-retirement training and equity shares.

It blamed the Bureau of Public Enterprises for failing to fully implement the agreements, saying the unions had repeatedly threatened industrial action, including shutting down the national grid, to compel compliance.

The Congress also disputed claims that labour leaders benefited from proceeds realised from the sale of PHCN assets.

“The writer alleges that N400 billion was realised from the sale of PHCN but refused to inform you that this same amount was completely used in settling workers benefits because of the insistence of the Union leaders.”

It added that, “The BPE itself has disclosed that it spent about N409.9 billion on the payment of severance benefits to ex-workers and death benefits. The unions did not ‘get’ this money; it was paid to workers as their rightful entitlements.”

The NLC challenged the former manager to disclose his own severance package.

“This former manager should answer this question; how much did he receive as his entitlement, and who negotiated it for him?”

The Congress further argued that the real controversy was not workers’ benefits but what it described as continued government support for the privatised electricity companies despite poor service delivery.

“What the former manager conveniently ignores is the real scandal; that the government has reportedly committed trillions of naira to support the privatised electricity sector entities far more than was ever spent on PHCN; while workers continue to suffer and Nigerians pay for darkness.”

The NLC questioned why the former manager had remained silent for over a decade before criticising labour leaders.

“For 13 years, this former manager who had a disdain for workers and the Unions has received and enjoyed his exit package. Only now, after more than a decade, does he suddenly ‘discover’ that workers are being owed? We wonder what has changed.”

It added, “Could it be that certain enemies of Nigerian workers and the labour movement have found a willing tool to attack the NLC and its leadership? The answer is obvious.”

The statement also accused the former PHCN official of hypocrisy.

“In any case, when a man who spent his career fighting unions suddenly becomes their defender after 13 years, ask not what changed; ask who paid him to change.”

It further stated, “This is the same individual who, as a manager, refused to belong to any union and was reportedly an arrowhead in the fight against the union. Now he presents himself as a defender of workers! This is the height of hypocrisy.”

The Congress reaffirmed its support for Ajaero and urged workers not to be distracted by what it described as attempts to divide the labour movement.

“The NLC stands firm in its commitment to defending the rights of Nigerian workers. We call on all genuine workers to see this publication for what it is; a sponsored attack designed to divide the working class and weaken the labour movement.”

The statement concluded with a rallying call to workers.

“To every Nigerian worker, we say remain united. Do not allow these agents of capital and their shameless lackeys to sow confusion among us. The struggle for justice, fair treatment, and the restoration of electricity as a social service continues.”

“We remain committed to our struggle for a stronger trade union movement and will not allow ourselves to be distracted by the disgusting farts of the minnows of our traducers.”