Ajero Must Go: Civil Society Groups Push for Ajero’s Removal Amid Natasha Row

A civil society organisation, Nigeria Integrity Watch (NIW), has called for the removal of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Joe Ajero, accusing him of abusing his office by intervening in what the group describes as a partisan defence of suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Friday and signed by NIW national convener Dr. John Samuel Nangi, the group alleged that Ajero has dragged the labour movement into a political battle that undermines its credibility and impartiality. NIW accused the NLC of “meddling in the legislature’s internal affairs” after the union publicly criticised the Senate for refusing to allow Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan back into the chamber at the end of a six-month suspension.

Earlier this week the NLC had denounced the Senate’s position as “a descent into legislative dictatorship and democratic anarchy,” insisting the senator’s suspension had expired and therefore no longer had legal effect. NIW said that stance was inappropriate and that the union had crossed a line by inserting itself into a matter that should be resolved within legislative processes.

NIW further accused the suspended senator of flouting a Federal High Court ruling that reportedly required her to issue a public apology and pay a ₦5 million fine. “She was suspended on plenary and it is only plenary that can overturn such a decision,” Dr. Nangi said in the statement, arguing that NLC interventions were premature and ill-advised. The group also alleged that Akpoti-Uduaghan had misrepresented both the court ruling and Senate rules to the public.

The civil society group urged NLC executives to remove Ajero from office, saying he had “lowered the bar of leadership” and transformed the once formidable labour body into what NIW called “a one-man organisation where statements are issued at will.” NIW called on all organs of the NLC to “rise up to this challenge and purge itself of this bad leader.”

The statement added that the senator was the party that sought an appeal, not the Senate, and that the legislature should be allowed to address the matter in plenary. NIW said it was concerned that continued public positioning by the NLC could escalate political tensions and damage the union’s reputation for independence.

Attempts to reach the NLC and Mr. Ajero for comment were not immediately successful. The NLC’s public criticism of the Senate and NIW’s demand for Ajero’s removal mark the latest developments in an unfolding dispute involving the senator, the judiciary and the legislature.