The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, has accused the administration of President Bola Tinubu of failing to maintain meaningful engagement with organised labour, alleging that the government has become increasingly distant from the congress.
Ajaero made the allegation during the latest episode of the Mic On Podcast, where he discussed the events surrounding the NLC’s planned nationwide protest in December 2025.
According to the NLC president, the congress made several attempts to open discussions with the Federal Government but did not receive responses to correspondence sent to President Tinubu between May and December 2025.
“For the past two to three years, it’s not government that is engaging. This government doesn’t engage,” Ajaero said.
He claimed that the government only became responsive when labour unions took their grievances to the public, describing the administration as disconnected from organised labour.
“It’s only when people engage; they now say A, B, C, D. So they are aloof,” he added.
Ajaero said the lack of response eventually contributed to the decision by the NLC to schedule a street protest for December 17, 2025.
He explained that some state governors later intervened following the planned demonstration and facilitated a meeting between labour leaders and government representatives.
The intervention, according to Ajaero, resulted in an interface between the two sides, although he said there had been little engagement since then.
“And after that, some governors intervened, and we had an interface. So some governors met with us, and since that time, we have talked once or twice,” he said.
The NLC president further alleged that the government had continued with its activities without addressing the concerns raised by organised labour.
“And those issues, from December last year to now, they are just doing their business. Everybody is their enemy,” Ajaero said.
His comments come amid renewed tensions between labour and the Federal Government following a three-day warning strike by public servants under the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC).
The council had threatened industrial action over the cost of petrol and workers’ welfare, demanding that the Federal Government reduce the pump price of petrol to N500 per litre and approve a new wage award for workers.
The latest disagreement adds to a series of tensions between organised labour and the Tinubu administration over economic policies, wages and the rising cost of living.
Source: Mic On Podcast
