The Imo Elders Council has condemned the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) for shutting down economic activities in the state.
Speaking on behalf of the elders, Chris Anaywu, a former Senator from Imo West Senatorial District, accused the NLC of denying the people and businesses electricity and air travel. He said that the kind of measures taken by the NLC are unprecedented in the history of the world.
“The kind of measures they have taken are unprecedented in the history of the world. I have never seen a time in this world where a human being has been barred from using an airport. The airport built on the sweat of Imo people and handed over to the Federal Government. You can’t do things like that. There have to be consequences for some of these extreme measures but I think the solution is in discussion,” He said.
Anaywu said that there is no crisis in Imo and that the NLC should have resorted to dialogue instead of taking extreme measures.
The NLC had shut down economic activities in Imo state in protest of the maltreatment meted out to the union’s leader, Joe Ajaero, during its protest last week. The union had also embarked on industrial action in Imo state over the alleged refusal of Governor Hope Uzodinmma to pay salary arrears owed to workers and alleged intimidation of the state chapter of the union, among other things.
The Imo Elders Council’s condemnation of the NLC’s actions is a welcome development. It is important for the NLC to engage in dialogue with the Imo state government to address its grievances rather than taking extreme measures that hurt the people and businesses of the state.