The disagreement between Nigeria’s two major labour centres has intensified, with Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Joe Ajaero and his Trade Union Congress (TUC) counterpart, Festus Osifo, trading accusations over the Federal Government’s N70,000 monthly transport allowance for public sector workers.
The controversy surrounding the six-month transport palliative introduced by President Bola Tinubu’s administration escalated during separate appearances by the labour leaders on Channels Television’s breakfast programme.
The Federal Government announced the N70,000 monthly allowance last Tuesday following a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) reached with NLC representatives at a meeting in Abuja.
However, the TUC rejected the arrangement less than 24 hours after its announcement, insisting that workers required a permanent salary increase rather than temporary financial assistance.
Reacting to the rejection, Ajaero questioned the TUC’s decision to criticise an agreement it was not directly involved in negotiating. He argued that the organisation should have approached the government independently if it had different demands.
Providing details of the negotiations, the NLC president explained that the allowance followed an ultimatum issued to the Federal Government over workers’ welfare.
According to him, the government requested four days to respond to the demands, after which both parties reconvened and reached an agreement.
Ajaero said the N70,000 allowance was part of the outcome of the collective bargaining process between the NLC and the Federal Government.
He subsequently questioned Osifo’s leadership of the TUC, describing him as an absentee president.
Ajaero alleged that his counterpart spends most of his time in the United States, returning to Nigeria mainly for meetings before travelling abroad again.
He challenged Osifo and the Nigeria Immigration Service to establish how much time the TUC president had spent in the country in recent months.
Ajaero also demanded an explanation regarding the whereabouts of the 90 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses reportedly donated to the TUC by the Federal Government.
In response, Osifo launched a scathing attack on Ajaero, describing the NLC president as a disaster to Nigeria’s trade union movement.
He argued that organised labour deserved better leadership, expressing disappointment that Ajaero’s remarks were coming from someone leading a movement previously headed by respected labour leaders.
Osifo maintained that the NLC lacked the mandate to negotiate on behalf of TUC members, emphasising that both organisations operated independently, with separate leadership structures, affiliated unions and responsibilities.
Responding to claims that he lived outside Nigeria, the TUC president described the allegation as embarrassing.
He explained that before completing his tenure as President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) in August, he had regularly visited workplaces and negotiated salary increases and other benefits for members.
Osifo also disclosed that he was currently in the United Kingdom attending a training programme on advanced leadership and management.
The TUC president further accused Ajaero of failing to negotiate better conditions for Nigerian workers, questioning his experience in trade union leadership.
He suggested that the NLC president required further training in leadership and negotiation.
“Ajaero has never led any union in Nigeria, that is why he does not understand the principles of negotiation,” Osifo said, recommending training and retraining for his NLC counterpart.
The exchange has brought renewed attention to the longstanding differences between the NLC and TUC, Nigeria’s two principal labour organisations.
Although the unions have occasionally collaborated on matters affecting workers, disagreements over negotiations, government agreements and labour policies have repeatedly challenged their ability to present a common position on critical national issues.
