The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) accused Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinmma of sending thugs to attack the home of its President, Joe Ajaero, on Saturday. The NLC claimed that the attack was carried out under the misguided belief that Ajaero was still present. Ajaero led workers to Owerri, the Imo State capital, to protest the governor's failure to pay salaries. The protest turned violent as Ajaero was assaulted in the process, with the police taking him into protective custody. The NLC and Trade Union Congress (TUC) threatened to go on strike on Wednesday unless the Inspector General of Police redeployed the Commissioner of Police in Imo, among other demands. The NLC Head of Media and Information, Comrade Benson Upah, stated that last week's attack on Ajaero "stands as a stark reminder of the lengths to which they are willing to go in their pursuit of suppression and brutality." The Imo government described the allegation that Ajaero's home was attacked as a "falsehood". The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Chief Declan Emelumba, said that Ajaero and his alarmists have gone mad and thrown every decorum to the wind. A House of Representatives member, Eugene Dibiagwu, accused Ajaero of working for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Samuel Anyanwu, to cause anarchy in the state ahead of the governorship election.
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