Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State, announced that he had no reason to have supported the attack on the President of the Nigerian Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero, during protest in the state.
Uzodimma disclosed this when he appeared on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday night.
Uzodimma said, “I think Joe Ajaero is pursuing his interest. He has said times without number that he is a member of the Labour Party. He has a candidate in the election of Imo State, so he is driving whatever programme will give an advantage to the Labour Party in Imo State.
“If you follow with interest the history of the Labour Congress from 1999 till date, never in the history of any government has the Labour Congress or Labour union shown the level of hostility they have shown to this administration.
“Assuming anybody has gone to Joe Ajaero to report that there was anything the Imo State government has not done right, I think the first thing he should do is to try to find out from the state government.
“As I speak to you, we have not met, we have never discussed, he has never presented anything to me. I am not a member of the Labour Union. I have no reason to encourage or support an assault on Joe Ajaero, who is the President of the Nigerian Labour Congress.”
Asked whether the governor could directly apologize to the NLC President over the assault, Uzodimma said, “Ordinarily, whether Joe Ajaero is the Labour President, if such a thing happens to any human being, I must apologize because it’s in my state.
“Whatever has happened to Joe Ajaero in my state, which I am not aware of, can never be aware of, that led to him being assaulted, of course, must be regretted by both my government and my person.”
According to reports, Ajaero was arrested by the Police on Wednesday, November 1, 2023, at the State Secretariat of the NLC.
