The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of failing to adequately engage with organized labour, describing the government as aloof and disconnected 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 repeated attempts to engage the Federal Government between May and December 2025 but received no response to its correspondence to President Tinubu.
“For the past two to three years, it’s not government that is engaging. This government doesn’t engage,” Ajaero said.
He alleged that the government only responded when labour unions took their grievances to the public, arguing that the administration had become detached from organized labour.
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“It’s only when people engage; they now say A, B, C, D. So they are aloof,” he added.
Ajaero said the failure to secure a response from the presidency eventually prompted the NLC to schedule a nationwide street protest for December 17, 2025.
He, however, disclosed that some state governors intervened following the planned demonstration, resulting in a meeting between labour leaders and the governors.
According to Ajaero, the intervention provided an opportunity for labour and government representatives to interface, although he said engagements since then have remained limited.
“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 policies and activities without adequately addressing the concerns raised by organized 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 organized 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 demands including a reduction in petrol prices to N500 per litre and the approval of a new wage award for workers.
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The latest comments are likely to further fuel debate over the state of government-labour relations and the unresolved economic pressures facing Nigerian workers.
