Lucky Obukohwo Reporting
The Caretaker Committee of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Edo State Council, has directed all affiliate unions under its jurisdiction to boycott a sensitisation and familiarisation meeting convened by the Edo State Ministry of Labour and Productivity.
The meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, September 23, 2026, at the John Odigie-Oyegun Public Service Academy (JOOPSA), is expected to commence at 11:00 a.m.
In a statement dated September 18 and signed by its Chairman, Comrade Prof. Monday Lewis Igbafen, the caretaker committee said the Edo State NLC leadership was neither formally invited nor officially notified of the planned meeting.
The committee consequently instructed its affiliate unions and their members not to attend the meeting, stressing that the directive followed the absence of any official communication to the recognised NLC leadership in the state.
Consequently, the committee directed the NLC leadership, as well as the chairmen and secretaries of its affiliate unions across the state, to stay away from the programme.
According to the statement, the committee had been informed of a purported invitation extended to organised labour, comprising the NLC and Trade Union Congress (TUC), but insisted that no formal invitation had been addressed to the legitimate leadership of the Edo NLC.
“While the Caretaker Committee remains open to engagements of this nature, it must be emphasised that we cannot attend a meeting to which we were not invited,” Igbafen said.
He added that until the legitimate leadership of the Edo NLC was officially invited, the NLC leadership and its affiliate unions should “distance themselves from and boycott” the meeting.
The caretaker committee subsequently called on the affiliate unions to comply with the directive, emphasizing the need for their cooperation and solidarity.
The directive comes against the backdrop of an ongoing leadership dispute within the Edo State NLC, with the caretaker committee insisting that it remains the legitimate leadership of the council.
