Breaking News:“Be Prepared for Storms If You Place Dangote Above the Law,” NLC President Ajaero Warns Shettima — Accuses Government of Backing Corporate Impunity
The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Joe Ajaero, has issued a stern warning to the Federal Government, cautioning Vice President Kashim Shettima against elevating Dangote Refinery above the nation’s labour laws.
Ajaero, in a statement released on Tuesday, condemned Shettima’s recent remarks describing the refinery as a “national asset,” calling the statement a “national tragedy” that signals a dangerous precedent where wealth and political influence trump justice and the rule of law.
“No company, no matter how big, ‘strategic’, or well-connected, can operate outside the law or be bigger than Nigeria. If the Dangote Refinery is to be granted rights and privileges above the law, then the government must be prepared for the storms such injustice will inevitably unleash. There can be no peace without justice,” Ajaero warned.
The NLC president accused the Dangote Group of consistently violating workers’ rights particularly the right to freedom of association and to join trade unions of their choice. He said the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) was merely fulfilling its duty to protect workers from exploitation and that attempts to label such union activities as sabotage were both “unfair and dangerous.”
Ajaero lambasted the government for what he called its failure to protect Nigerian workers, arguing that the Tinubu administration’s tendency to side with powerful corporations amounts to “endorsing lawlessness and injustice.”
“This is not just an industrial issue; it is a declaration of class war where the state aligns with the powerful against the vulnerable,” he said.
The labour leader warned that the continued tolerance of corporate impunity poses a serious threat to social stability and the welfare of Nigerian citizens, insisting that justice and fair treatment of workers are non-negotiable if peace is to be sustained.
“When a government looks away as corporations trample on labour rights, it sends a clear message that ordinary Nigerians don’t matter,” Ajaero stated.
He called on the Federal Government to reaffirm its commitment to labour laws and ensure that no private entity no matter how influential operates above national statutes.