Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has alleged that when he assumed office in 1999, a faction of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) was being funded by the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Obasanjo made the claim on Wednesday at the Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja during the 85th birthday celebration and book presentation in honour of former NLC president, Hassan Summonu. He said the situation influenced his decision to reform Nigeria’s labour movement to ensure it was independent and under national control.
According to Obasanjo, Nigeria’s two dominant labour centres at the time were receiving foreign backing dating back to the Cold War era, with one allegedly supported by the Soviet-era KGB and the other by the CIA. He said this foreign influence prompted the consolidation of the labour movement into a single, internally funded and controlled organisation, stressing that Nigerian labour unions should not be financed or directed from outside the country.