Ajaero Calls TUC President Osifo Absentee Leader Living Abroad

By Adedapo Adesanya

The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr Joe Ajaero, has accused his Trade Union Congress (TUC) counterpart, Mr Festus Osifo, of being an absentee leader who allegedly lives in the United States and only returns to Nigeria to attend meetings.

The recent disagreement between the two labour leaders followed the federal government’s decision to approve a N70,000 monthly transport allowance for public servants for six months, beginning in November 2026, alongside plans to pay outstanding peculiar allowance arrears in instalments.

Mr Ajaero challenged Mr Osifo to prove his presence in the country, urging him and the Nigeria Immigration Service to establish whether the TUC president had spent four to five months in Nigeria this year.

The NLC president made the allegations while speaking on Morning Brief, a programme on Channels Television, on Monday, amid disagreements over leadership and cooperation between the two labour groups.

“He is an absentee president of TUC; he doesn’t live in Nigeria. He comes in from the US to attend meetings and rush back,” Mr Ajaero said, arguing that anyone occupying a leadership position in a central labour organisation should not be based abroad, insisting that his allegations could be verified.

“You can’t be living abroad and be holding a position in the central-level organisation, and I challenge him and the Nigerian Immigration Service to prove if he has been in this country for four to five months this year,” he said.

Mr Ajaero also dismissed suggestions that he had failed to maintain communication with Mr Osifo, saying he had repeatedly tried to reach his counterpart to discuss issues affecting Nigerian workers, including the minimum wage.

According to him, he sent messages to Mr Osifo around June or July seeking to harmonise their positions on the minimum wage issue, but the discussions did not progress.

“I’ve been trying to reach him. I sent him messages around June or July. I sent messages that we need to harmonise our position, and when I finish, I’ll forward it to you on this issue of minimum wage,” he said.

He added that the TUC leader would sometimes say he was in transit and promise to call back, but they would ultimately fail to discuss the issues.

Mr Ajaero maintained that he had made several attempts to contact the TUC president, insisting that the accusation that he failed to reach out to his counterpart was unfounded.

“If he says that my leadership style is that I don’t reach out to him, I don’t think that is actually true. It’s not true. I call him more,” he said.

The NLC president further questioned Mr Osifo’s alleged attendance at meetings of the National Pension Commission (PenCom) board, claiming that, apart from one virtual appearance, he had not been seen participating in its activities.

“He has not been seen there,” Mr Ajaero said, without providing further details to substantiate the claim during the interview.

Mr Ajaero also defended his leadership record against criticism from Osifo, saying his counterpart had not adequately acknowledged his efforts to maintain communication and cooperation between the two labour centres.

He said he had forwarded information about receiving the Arthur Svensson International Prize for Trade Union Rights to Mr Osifo but did not receive a response.

The award recognises trade unionists and organisations for their work in defending trade union rights.

Mr Ajaero described the recognition as a significant achievement for Nigerian organised labour, saying he was the first Nigerian trade unionist to receive the award.

“As of today, I hold the Arthur Svensson Award for the most courageous trade unionist in this world. So he can’t come here, and when that happened, I only then realised the whole issue. I forwarded it to him; he didn’t make a comment, and that’s the first time a Nigerian trade unionist is getting that award,” he said.

He also maintained that his attempts to engage Mr Osifo on labour matters contradicted claims that his leadership style had undermined communication between them.