The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)has denied that its President, Joe Ajaero, snubbed an invitation from the Department of State Services (DSS), before he was eventually arrest at the airport.
In a statement on Wednesday signed by its Head of Information, Benson Upah, the NLC said Ajaero had a discussion with the DG DSS on a courtesy visit and was assured of a 48-hour notice before the visit.
It added that Ajaero informed the DG DSS of his travel plans and rescheduled the courtesy visit for September 13 upon his return.
The NLC described Ajaero as a law-abiding citizen and a trade unionist of international repute, who would not disregard invitations.
The statement dismissed the claims as false and misleading, and reaffirmed Ajaero’s commitment to patriotism and honouring invitations.
It read, “We would like to set the records straight as follows: In the days preceding his arrest, Congress President had had a discussion with the DG DSS on a courtesy visit.
“A Director in the agency later called the General Secretary of the Congress on the need to fix a date for the courtesy visit. The General Secretary however explained to him that he would not be available until Friday (September 13). The said Director assured him they would give Congress leadership a notice of not less than 48 hours for the visit.
“The DG DSS last spoke with Comrade Ajaero on Saturday night during which Ajaero told him he would be travelling the next day, Sunday, adding that the courtesy visit would be paid after his return on Friday, September 13.
“The Congress President however missed his flight on Sunday and had it rescheduled to Monday, September 9th.
“It was on that Monday morning he was picked up by the operatives of the DSS in a watch list operation on behalf of a sister agency.
“We want to re-affirm that Joe Ajaero is a law-abiding citizen heading the biggest pan-Nigerian organisation with an illustrious history of patriotism and will certainly not snub the DSS. He is a trade unionist of international repute who serves on the executive boards of world federations of trade unions. His constituency goes beyond Nigeria.”
The statement further states, “It is not in his character to disregard invitations and precedents (his honouring the police invitation) attest to this.”
