Shettima’s comment on Dangote-PENGASSAN feud national tragedy — NLC

Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has taken a swipe at Vice President Kashim Shettima, accusing him of promoting and encouraging lawlessness by capitalists alleged to be violating workers’ rights.

In a message to mark the 2025 Decent Work Day, President of NLC, Comrade Joe Ajaero described Shettima’s comments on the dispute between Dangote Group and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), as “a national tragedy” and an “affront to the rule of law.”

He said: “It is a public declaration that capital, when sufficiently concentrated, is above the law, that money is sovereign and can undermine Decent work principles.

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“We want to ask Government this question; what do you expect the unions to do when you, the State, abdicate your primary responsibility of protecting citizens and instead look the other way while capitalist entities rape and violate the people?

“By encouraging this lawlessness, the government is promoting a disdain for our nation’s institutions and emboldening the forces of impunity that have held our nation captive.”

Ajaero who insisted that no company in Nigeria was above the law or should disregard workers’ rights, accused the company of violating employees’ freedom of association and undermining the tenets of Decent Work inspite of all the concessions and privileges from the Nigerian State.

The NLC president who said it was dangerous to frame legitimate union activities as sabotage, urging government to protect workers instead of taking a side with powerful employers.

Ajaero called for strict enforcement of labour laws and an end to the “sacred cow syndrome”, saying the protection of vulnerable workers must remain a national priority.

Speaking further, he called for justice and fair treatment for all workers as he insisted that the rights and welfare of workers must not be compromised, adding that no nation could achieve true development while repressing workers’ rights and promoting inequality.

Ajaero who said the Decent Day celebration provided an opportunity to demand an end to exploitation and impunity in workplaces across Nigeria, urged government and private employers to uphold the four pillars of decent work, job creation, social protection, rights at work, and social dialogue.

According to him, the principles of decent work were being undermined by both government agencies and some private employers, thereby sabotaging industrialisation and economic diversification.