N70,000 transport allowance saga: PENGASSAN begs Ajaero, Osifo to sheathe swords, unite Labour

…Says rift not good for collective interests of workers

By Victor Ahiuma-Young & Omotola Aremo

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, has called on the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Comrade Joe Ajaero, and his counterpart in the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, Comrade Festus Osifo, to sheathe their swords and urgently resolve the differences between the two major labour centres in the interest of Nigerian workers.

The appeal comes amid the lingering controversy between the NLC and TUC over the Federal Government’s proposed N70,000 transport allowance, which the TUC leadership rejected.

The disagreement has exposed differences between the two labour central organisations over the handling of the allowance, raising concerns about the ability of organised labour to sustain a common front in its engagements with the Federal Government.

Agoro warned that the divisions could weaken labour’s collective bargaining power and undermine its responsibility to defend workers’ interests.

The PENGASSAN President, who made the appeal at the Labour Writers Association of Nigeria (LAWAN) conference in Lagos, urged both leaders to prioritise dialogue, reconciliation and cooperation, insisting that the interests of Nigerian workers must take precedence over institutional disagreements.

Speaking in his personal capacity, while also representing Osifo at the event, Agoro challenged the two labour leaders to practise the unity they had encouraged other labour organisations to embrace, stressing that the time had come for them to resolve their differences and present a common front in engagements with the government.

He said: “I listened carefully to Comrade Joe Ajaero, and I want him and his twin brother to do the same thing that he advised Labour Correspondents Association of Nigeria, LACAN, and LAWAN to do.

“We cannot shy away from the fact that things are not the way they are supposed to be with the two of them. So, in the same manner that you have advised both LACAN and LAWAN to come together without having to dissolve their centres and go for retreat, I think it is time we tell the two of them to pull back a bit and talk to themselves.

“The reason why we have this platform is because we are representing the people (workers), and the interest of the people must be number one on our minds. Anything we are doing that will jeopardise what the people have put us in this position to do, we must move away from it.

“We don’t normally come with problems alone; we always like to prepare solutions. I think it is time for both TUC and NLC to sit down and have a Memorandum of Understanding on how we want this relationship to work.

“The Federal Government of Nigeria has married two wives, and if they think they have anything to gain by the discord between both labour centres, I think they are just joking. At some point, water will always find its level, and we will come back to fight against them. But it is important that, as organised labour, we must organise ourselves.

“If TUC and NLC had come together, as I told my elder Comrade, Festus Osifo, you people can come and study us in Oyo State.

“As President of PENGASSAN and TUC Chairman for Oyo State, I work in synergy with Comrade Kayode Martins, who is the NLC Chairman in Oyo State.

“I can say authoritatively that when I came in as TUC Chairman for Oyo State, there were issues. Immediately I came in and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Labour Matters saw the way Comrade Kayode Martins and I were relating, they told some people that there was going to be trouble in Oyo State.

“This was even before we had done anything, simply because they saw that whenever we were coming, we were coming together.

“Not up to four or five months later, they shut down the entire Secretariat of Oyo State. We did not permit the Governor to go in until the problems were sorted out, and it was because we were able to put our house in order.

“It will be very difficult for anyone to take one of us and go alone.

“Comrade Joe Ajaero made a statement yesterday about three, four or five times that the NLC wants to go out, but the TUC will always pull back. I am not even looking at the issue; I am looking at what he made mention of. It means that we need each other to go out together to make our going out a real going out.

“We need to put our house together and make sure that we go out as a common voice whenever we want to ask for anything.

“If the Governor of Oyo State calls me and says we need to meet, I already know that means he needs to meet with me and Martins.

“Even the JSC Chairman in Oyo State, there is no meeting we have had with the Governor, whether private or public, that the three of us have not been present.

“With that alone, we have sent them a message that there is nothing you are going to do to me or the others to separate us. That gives us strength, and that is why most of the time we have been able to get what we need from the government for the benefit of our people.

“It is important that we put the benefit of the people at the top of our minds in anything that we do.”

Agoro maintained that the experience in Oyo State demonstrated how cooperation between the NLC and TUC could strengthen labour’s bargaining power and prevent government authorities from exploiting disagreements within the movement.

He therefore urged Ajaero and Osifo to embrace constructive engagement and establish a clear framework for cooperation, warning that a divided labour movement would struggle to effectively achieve its objectives.