The organised labour under the umbrella of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), appears to be in dilemma whether to proceed on the nationwide protest or shelve it.
On one hand, the Federal Government has intensified it’s strategy to abort the planned protest as the Chief of Staff to the President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila begged labour at meeting with the labour union Tuesday to shelve the strike, citing palliative measures reeled out by the President Monday night.
This is even as Tribune reports that Coalition of Civil Society Organisations/Labour Centre have cautioned the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) to jettison their planned strike scheduled to commence nationwide on Wednesday.
They argued that though things were tough, the two trade Unions should consider the dire consequences on the nation as the exercise might be hijacked by aggrieved Nigerians who had been benefiting from fuel subsidy, leading to loss of lives and property.
The coalition sounded this word of caution on Tuesday in its communique issued at the end of its meeting held at Lagos Airport Hotel, Ikeja.
It was attended by Razak Olokoba of Campaign for Dignity in Governance (CDG), Nelson Ekujumi (Centre for Social and Economic Rights), Titi Akosa (Centre for 21st Century Issues), Linus Okoroji (Humanity Services Project), Raji Rasheed Oyewunmi (Yoruba Citizen Action for Change), Gbenga Soloki (Campaign Against Impunity and Domestic Violence), Razaq Oladosu (Grassroots Democratic Initiatives), Ramat Abdulrazak (Women Grassroot Network), among others.
Also, Punch reports indicate that 16 Northern-based civil society groups under the aegis of the Coalition of Arewa Civil Society Organisations have pulled out on the grounds that the indefinite strike action will damage the fragile economy and cause more hardship to the ordinary citizens.
According to Vanguard reports, Tuesday, the Federal government pleaded with the Organised Labour to suspend the proposed strike on Wednesday, saying that government is doing everything to ensure that the hardship occasioned by the petrol subsidy removal is sorted out.
But the organised labour has said that the palliatives rolled out by the President in his nationwide broadcast on Monday night is very insignificant to cushion the effect of sufferings in the country.
However, the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, specifically said it was going on with the proposed national protest on Wednesday.
Briefing State House correspondents at the end of the Presidential Steering Committee on Palliatives held at the State House, Abuja, the Chief of Staff to the President, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, appealed to the organised labour to suspend the planned protest.
He said, “We have laid out the plans, the interventions of Mr. President, as you all heard in his broadcast yesterday, we made it clear that this was just Mr. President’s initial rollout and interventions and that conversations will be ongoing as we go along.
“And we appealed to Labour, we did appeal to labour to call off the protests for tomorrow. We found listening ears here and they did agree that they all accepted that Mr. President’s broadcast was a welcome development and that they will go back home to talk to the other leaders that are not present today. So we’re hopeful that they will do the right thing and call off the strike tomorrow.”
However, the NLC led by its Deputy President, Comrade Titus Amba said that there was nothing new apart from the broadcast of President Bola Tinubu that was presented to the committee, adding that the palliatives as rolled out by the President in his broadcast cannot remedy anything.
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