Northern youths under the auspices of Arewa Youths Assembly (AYA) have asked the inspector general of police and the director-general of the Directorate of State Services (DSS) to order the immediate arrest of the president of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Joe Ajaero, over alleged plans to scuttle the inauguration of President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Addressing a press conference at Arewa House, Kaduna, yesterday, spokesman of the group, Ali Muhammad, accused Ajaero of working with the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to actualise the presidential bid of Peter Obi of Labour Patty (LP) and not Tinubu who was declared winner of the election.
The NLC president has, however, dismissed the allegation, describing it as cheap blackmail.
In their petition, the Arewa youths also accused Comrade Ajaero of using the NLC as a platform to promote the Biafra agenda and to indulge in corruption.
“We also accuse him of corruption; he and his secretary-general received one bullet proof SUV car each worth N1 billion to sabotage the planned workers’ strike against the cashless policy of the apex bank.
“We regret that this is the first time in the history of NLC that two people from one ethnic group are occupying the office of president (Joe Ajaero from Imo State and secretary-general, Emmanuel Ugboaja from Abia) at the same time, hence it is easy for them to prosecute the Biafra agenda
“In the petition, we have drawn the attention of the security agencies to open threats by Ajaero to scuttle the inauguration of President-elect, Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Another important issue is, apart from threatening the judges handling the election petition tribunal, Ajaero has gone ahead to sabotage institutions of state in the name of strikes,” Muhammad said.
The AYA claimed that “Ajaero showed his ethnic card by inviting Peter Obi to the last May Day celebration in Abuja without extending same to the leadership of other political parties and even the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who is the number one labourer of the nation.
“We regret that Ajaero is using the Igbo dominated NLC to sabotage the economy of the country in the guise of strikes.
“The disruption of flights to Imo State on Wednesday where an airline reportedly lost N700m is only a rehearsal of what Ajaero and IPOB plan to do to Nigeria’s economy ahead of Tinubu’s inauguration.
“The invasion of Lagos and Imo Airports by IPOB fundamentalists masquerading as NLC is only but the beginning of what Ajaero is hatching to stop Tinubu from taking oath of office on May 29”, they said.
