BENIN CITY — On the eve of what should be a global celebration of the proletariat, the Edo State labour movement stands on the precipice of a historic rift, Standarddailypress.com has gathered.
In a searing and combative press statement released on April 30, 2026, the Caretaker Committee of the Edo State Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has officially declared tomorrow’s May Day celebrations a “hoax” and has urged all genuine workers to stay home in silent protest.
The declaration, signed by the Chairman of the Caretaker Committee, Professor Monday Lewis Igbafen, signals a complete breakdown in relations between the legitimate labour leadership and what the committee describes as a coalition of “reactionaries, impostors, and labour aristocrats” currently occupying the state’s union machinery.
A Scathing Indictment of State Interference
The Caretaker Committee did not mince words in its characterization of the government’s involvement in tomorrow’s activities at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City.
While acknowledging that state support for labour events is standard, Prof. Igbafen labeled the current government approach as a “violent intrusion” and “undue meddling.”
The committee drew specific attention to a government circular dated April 22, 2026, which allegedly mandated compulsory attendance for all civil and public servants.
According to the committee, this directive was backed by the deployment of state-funded buses and “veiled threats of sanctions” against any worker who fails to participate, the Committee told Standarddailypress.com.
“Let it be said plainly: May Day is not for the oppressor. It is not for the compradors, the bourgeoisie, or the employers of labour to parade their dominance,” the statement read.
“We do not reject government support for a successful May Day. But we must condemn, in the strongest terms, the open takeover of its organization.”
The Crisis of Legitimacy
For the Caretaker Committee, the upcoming assembly at the stadium is not a celebration of workers’ rights, but a display of political dominance designed to mask the “strangulation of independent trade unionism.”
Prof. Igbafen accused the organizers of the government-backed event of being “usurpers and hijackers” who have driven the Edo NLC into a state of coma, resisting all peaceful, legal avenues to resolve the ongoing leadership crisis.
The committee asserts that the true, legitimate leadership of the NLC in Edo State, as well as the national leadership of the Congress, are not the architects of tomorrow’s planned gathering.
Invoking the Spirits of Giants
In a dramatic call to consciousness, the Caretaker Committee invoked the memory of Edo State’s illustrious labour titans, contrasting their revolutionary legacies with the current political climate in the state.
The statement explicitly referenced Pa Michael Imoudu the legendary father of the Nigerian labour movement, Festus Iyayi the radical intellectual and anti-capitalist titan, Peter Ozo-Eson, the seasoned economist and labour leader, Adams Oshiomhole the former NLC President who defined a generation of militant unionism, and Comrade Elijah Okougbo, the unblemished labour giant in height and in intellect.
“Hear us, comrades: the legacy of these giants stands in stark opposition to the labour climate we witness in Edo State today,” the committee argued. “Pa Imoudu would not sanction it. Festus Iyayi would not recognize it. Peter Ozo-Eson would not sit in silence… their memory rebukes it.”
A Call for Resistance
As the state prepares for a May Day that the committee insists “must not hold,” the leadership has urged the teeming workforce of Edo State to remain steadfast.
The committee views the current environment as a “passing phase” and has called on workers to shun the state-sponsored assembly in favorur of a silent mourning for the state of labour in Edo.
“Until this task is done, the glorious solidarity song of May Day cannot be sung in truth,” the statement made available to Standarddailypress.com concluded.
The committee reaffirmed its commitment to reclaiming the NLC from “political warlords” and restoring the council to its rightful custodians. With the battle lines drawn, the committee ended the statement with a defiant, rallying cry:
“Aluta continua! Victoria ascerta!”