The Natives, a group made up of some tribal leaders across the country has warned the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC not to join those planning to truncate the inauguration of President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Tinubu who won the February 25 presidential election is billed to be sworn in on May 29 to succeed the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Natives, however, said it has uncovered plot by the organized labour in cahoot with the opposition parties to truncate Tinubu’s inauguration in a few days.
It said the group spoke out after a Northern group, the Arewa Youth Assembly AYA said plans are in the offing by some persons to ensure that the inauguration does not hold as planned.
The group, for instance, referred to a comment made by the NLC President Joe Ajaero recently, to the effect that the outcome of the presidential election did not represent the true feelings of many Nigerians.
“Unfortunately, the majority of Nigerians, especially the youths, who fought with patriotism to reset their country through the ballot box, are now wondering if elections have not become the tool for legitimising the corrupt takeover of Nigeria,” Ajaero was quoted as saying during the Workers Day celebration on May 1.
But in a statement issued Sunday in Abuja, Smart Edwards, the Supreme Leader of the group said the NLC President has lost the capacity to speak for Nigerians, having allegedly pitched his tent with the opposition.
Edwards said, “Bola Ahmed Tinubu will be inaugurated in grand style as the 16th President of Nigeria.
“The Natives are already rolling out the drums as Nigeria prepares to witness the first opposition leader turned National Leader and elected as the 16th President of Nigeria. A Comrade, a June 12 advocate, a Senator, a Governor, a negotiator of political power with all past and incumbent Presidents in Nigeria, a builder of men, mentor and supporter of the Labour movement.
“We are The Natives of all tribes and languages. We are the real voters and we cannot wait for Tinubu to be inaugurated as the next President of this country.
“So, we advise all and sundry to perish the thought of protests or scuttling the inauguration but galvanize their members and supporters to join in the progress ahead of us all.
“Asiwaju will be different and all he needs is our collaboration and Labour has a major role to play in this.
“Nigerians have moved on from the deceptive and self centered negotiations of NLC. We all believed in the Labour union in the past, their tactics and even their combative actions but today it has led itself into a quagmire.
“2023 election chronicles their decline from speaking for all, the helpless, poor and disenfranchised citizens, to becoming representatives of politicians and saboteurs themselves.
“In the last general election, NLC’s foray into politics and its mode of choice of candidates threw the gates open to all manner of unknown and unpredictable people, it left the shores of tested comrades to uncharted depths.
“NLC’s inability to mitigate influx of mixed multitudes into their midst means it is likely to imbibe the culture of politicians with the same outcome from political actors by their choices, which they easily condemned in the past. This is even evident in the current squabbles it is awashed with, given the accusations and counter accusations that lead to the despicable act of its political actors at the Presidential Tribunal,” Edward said.
NLC he further stated “must take some courage to reset, rethink and restore the hopes of the common man which was historically vested in the Labuor movement to which we all participated as students, youth activists and civil society etc”.
“The NLC must know the difference and relationship between its party, the workers and non-workers. You cannot threaten the inauguration of a tested democrat, a symbol and face of doggedness, resistance and consistency in the liberation struggle for this democracy we now enjoy.
“ As a known promoter of the Labour movement, scuttling Tinubu’s inauguration is impossible, because there are far many Nigerians that are excited and attracted to the Renewed Hope mandate than are in the Labour movement or its party.”
The Natives said it is made up of different ethnic groups, cultures, Languages and tribes across Nigeria with over twenty million members nationwide.
