Ayuba Philibus Wabba (born 22 October 1968) is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

trade union leader. He was returned as the President of the

Nigeria Labour Congress The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is an umbrella organization for trade unions in Nigeria. History The Nigerian Labour Congress was founded in December 1978, as a merger of four different organisations: the Nigeria Trade Union Congress (NTUC), ...

for another four years during the unions leadership elections on 6 February 2019.

Early life and education

Born in

Borno State Borno State is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Yobe to the west, Gombe to the southwest, and Adamawa to the south while its eastern border forms part of the national border with Cameroon, its northern border ...

, Wabba attended school in

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, and then various institutions including the

Imo State University The Imo State University (IMSU) in Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria was established in 1981 through law No. 4 passed by the Imo State House of Assembly. The university admitted the first intake of 392 pioneer students on 23 October, 1981. After the ...

. During this period, he served as president of the National Union of Health Technology Students.

Career

After leaving education, Wabba began working for the

Medical and Health Workers' Union of Nigeria The Medical and Health Workers' Union of Nigeria (MHWUN) is a trade union representing medical workers in Nigeria. History The union was founded in 1978, when the Government of Nigeria merged the following unions: * Animal Health Workers' Union of ...

, becoming first its secretary in Borno State, then as the union's national president. In 2007, he was elected as national treasurer of the

, then in 2015 became its president. In 2018, he was elected as president of the International Trade Union Confederation. Wabba is an opponent of proposed Nigerian participation in the

African Continental Free Trade Area The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a free trade area encompassing most of Africa. It was established in 2018 by the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, which has 43 parties and another 11 signatories, making it the larg ...

. Wabba is also the Fiwagboye of Orile-Ifo and the Zanna Ma'alama of

Borno Emirate The Borno Emirate or Borno Sultanate is a traditional Nigerian state formed at the start of the 20th century. It is headed by descendants of the rulers of the Bornu Empire, founded before 1000. The rulers have the title Shehu of Borno (var. Shehu ...

. In one of his recent struggles with the government, the governor of Kaduna State declared him wanted with other NLC officials for alleged economic sabotage and attack on public infrastructure in the state. The NLC president responded by saying he is waiting to be arrested by the government and that the five days strike was not about him but about the welfare of the workers in Kaduna State. Workers from different minsteries and cadres of the civil service joined in the protest withdrawing their services for the five days due to shortage of civil servants in the public service in the state after some of them were sacked by the state government.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wabba, Ayuba 1968 births Living people Nigerian trade unionists People from Borno State Imo State University alumni Leaders of the International Trade Union Confederation