The Senator representing Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, has urged the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to focus on advancing workers’ rights rather than engaging in partisan politics.
He insisted that the present strike seemed to be motivated by political considerations rather than a clear worker-focused purpose.
The senator stated this after meeting with Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Speaking with State House Correspondents, he noted that he would always be on the side of Labour because of his background as a worker and union leader, he, however, insisted that Labour must not participate in partisan politics.
Oshiomhole stated that during his time as NLC president, he was not affiliated with any politician and refused to be used as a tool to settle scores in the political field.
According to him, “Labour cannot be apolitical because politics is about the people. And I have argued when I was in NLC that nobody has a right to be partisan, much more than those who turn the will of our industrial progress.
“But in saying that, we must recognise that however how hard you try, when it comes to politics, people are going to have different reasons for supporting different candidates.
“You have to be careful not to be seen to be doing the bidding of a particular candidate or a particular political party. As President of the NLC, I made no friend with any politicians in Edo State.
“So Ogbemudia once asked me, ‘we want to be able to say leave the matter to me he’s my boy, I will call him.’
“I am not anybody’s boy. I want to make my decisions. I take responsibility for those decisions. You can’t find me in the house of a politician jot because I hate them. Because they represent the value that I represent.
“I represent those guys who can only vote. Even though the law allowed them to be voted for, unfortunately, the system hardly throws them up.
“So I have to prioritise what is it that I’m ready to die for. And what is it that I’m ready to accommodate.”