President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, has accused the administration of President Bola Tinubu of failing to engage meaningfully with organised labour, alleging that repeated letters from the congress went unanswered.
Ajaero made the allegation on Saturday, October 3, 2026, during an episode of the Mic On Podcast, while revisiting the events that preceded the NLC’s nationwide protest against insecurity on December 17, 2025.
He said the congress wrote to Tinubu several times between May and December 2025 seeking dialogue on workers’ concerns but received no response.
“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 administration only responded when labour resorted to public action.
“It’s only when people engage; they now say A, B, C, D. So they are aloof,” he added.
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The NLC proceeded with the December 17 protest despite a meeting between Tinubu and labour leaders at the State House in Abuja on December 16. Ajaero said some governors later intervened, leading to further discussions between labour and government representatives.
He, however, claimed that subsequent engagement had been limited and that the issues raised by the congress remained unresolved.
“And those issues, from December last year to now, they are just doing their business. Everybody is their enemy,” he said.
Ajaero’s comments come as public servants under the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC) observe a three-day warning strike that began on Friday, October 2.
The council is demanding a reduction in petrol prices to ₦500 per litre, approval of a wage award and negotiations for a new national minimum wage of at least ₦500,000 from 2027.
The JNPSNC had given the Federal Government a September 30 deadline to address its demands after writing to Tinubu on September 21. The strike is scheduled to end on Sunday, October 4.
The latest action highlights continuing tensions between organised labour and the Federal Government over workers’ welfare, fuel prices, rising living costs and wage negotiations.