The Nation Newspaper

Tag: NLC

  • Imo NLC drops strike plan over court order

    Imo NLC drops strike plan over court order

    Imo State wing of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has dissociated its members from the plan of the President of the NLC, Comrade Joe Ajaero, to occupy Imo State from today.

    Addressing reporters in Owerri after a meeting with other Labour leaders in the state, the state Acting Chairman of NLC, Rev. Philip Nwansi, said organised Labour in Imo would not be part of the planned action because of a subsisting court order stopping the NLC from embarking on any such action.

    The leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Imo State chapter, has cautioned the Ajaero-led NLC against any strike in the state, saying “Occupy Imo is politically- motivated.”

    The Industrial Court sitting in Owerri on October 27 granted an order restraining the NLC from embarking on any industrial action in Imo State.

    The NLC chairman said based on the court order, the planned strike code- named: ‘Occupy Imo’ had become illegal.

    “All the affiliate unions, we are obeying the court order and we urge Imo workers to be at their duty posts tomorrow as law- abiding citizens,” Nwansi said.

    He said besides the court order, the organised Labour in Imo State did not see any reason the national body should order a strike.

    “Imo State workers say no to ‘Occupy Imo’ because we have not found reasons enough for the action,” he said.

    Read Also: Bandits kill one, abduct 25 in Southern Kaduna

    Nwansi noted that Labour in Imo State had been on the same page with the state government and wondered why the national body should cry more than the bereaved.

    He said since the Labour had no industrial dispute with the state government and since the court had declared the planned strike illegal, workers should go about their duties.

    CAN Imo State chapter enjoined the NLC leadership to shelve the idea of occupying Imo State in the name of a strike because of the negative impact it would have on the people.

    It said it was unthinkable for Labour leaders to contemplate strike in Imo or any other part of the country now because of what the people are passing through.

    CAN Chairman, Rev. Eches Divine Eches, gave the advice when speaking to reporters during a call on Governor Hope Uzodimma at the Government House Owerri, by the group.

    Eches, who said CAN had come to restate its position on the Imo Charter of Equity as the way to go in guaranteeing political stability in Imo, praised the governor on the giant strides he had recorded in the state since being in the saddle.

  • Imo NLC pulls out of strike over court order

    Imo NLC pulls out of strike over court order

    The Imo State wing of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has dissociated its members from the plan of the it’s national president, Comrade Joe Ajaero to occupy Imo State from Wednesday, November 1.

    Addressing newsmen in Owerri after a meeting with other labour leaders in the State, the state acting chairman of NLC, Rev Philip Nwansi, announced that organised labour in Imo would not be part of the planned action because of a subsisting court order stopping the NLC from embarking on any such action.

    Also, the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Imo state chapter, has cautioned the Ajaero-led NLC against any workers strike in the State, saying that “Occupy Imo is politically motivated.”

    The Industrial Court sitting in Owerri had last Friday, October 27, granted an order restraining the NLC from embarking on any industrial action in Imo state.

    Read Also; Tinubu’s 2023 supplementary budget scales second reading in Reps

    The NLC chairman said based on the court order, the planned strike code named “occupy Imo” had become illegal.

    Nwansi directed: “All the affiliate unions, we are obeying the court order and we urge all Imo workers to be on their duty posts tomorrow as law abiding citizens.”

    He said apart from the court order, the organised Labour in Imo State did not see any reason why the national body should order a strike.

    He noted: “Workers of Imo State say vehemently no to “occupy Imo” because we have not found reasons enough for the action.”

    He noted that Labour in Imo State has been on the same page with the State government and wondered why the national body should cry more than the bereaved.

    Rev Nwansi said that since the Labour has no industrial dispute with the State government and since the Court has declared the planned strike tomorrow illegal, workers should go about their duties in their offices.

    Also, the Christian Association of Nigerian (CAN), Imo State Chapter, advised the leadership of the NLC, to shelve the idea of occupying Imo State in the name of strike because of the negative impact it will have on the people.

    The body said that it is unthinkable for Labour leaders to contemplate strike in Imo or any other part of the country for that matter now because of what the people are already passing through.

    Chairman of CAN, Imo state chapter, Rev. Eches Divine Eches gave the advice when speaking to newsmen during a courtesy call on Governor Hope Uzodimma at the Government House Owerri by the group.

    Rev Eches who said the CAN had come to restate her position on the Imo Charter of Equity as the way to go in guaranteeing political stability in Imo, also commended the Governor on the giant strides he has recorded in the State since mounting the saddle.

  • NLC threatens boycott of today’s review meeting with Fed Govt

    NLC threatens boycott of today’s review meeting with Fed Govt

    • Court stops Labour’s ‘occupy Imo’ plan

    Today’s meeting between the Federal Government and Labour to review the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed to prevent the October 3 planned strike, is threatened.

    NLC President Joe Ajaero said yesterday that should Labour Minister Simon Lalong show up at the venue, his team would boycott the parley.

    The meeting is at the behest of the Office of the Chief of Staff to President, Ajaero confirmed.

    The NLC also reaffirmed its planned strike in Imo State on Wednesday over unpaid wages and other alleged anti-labour practices.

    But the National Industrial Court in Owerri has issued an extended interim injunction restraining Labour from embarking on the strike. 

    The Presiding/Admin Judge of the Division, Justice Nelson, adjourned till Friday for either a hearing or a report of settlement.

    Ajaero, at a briefing in Abuja, said today’s meeting will review progress made by the Federal Government. 

    Last week, the NLC accused Lalong of plotting to thwart the agreement reached with the Federal Government.

    Part of the agreement was the resolution of the crisis rocking the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW).

    The NLC accused the minister of siding with a faction of the NURTW leadership.

    Read Also: Gbajabiamila chides critics, says president’s team not driven by money politics

    Ajaero said: “Hopefully we may meet tomorrow (today) with the Federal Government all things being equal on their report and template, whether all those issues have been met in the last 30 days.

    “If that meeting holds, the minister of Labour will not be present in any meetings with us.

    “Any meeting the Federal Government calls today with the Minister of Labour and Employment, that meeting will not hold.

    “You have noticed of late that meetings are no longer called by the Minister of Labour because he is not in control. 

    “Therefore, to depend on him for resolutions on issues about Labour is to waste our time.

    “For tomorrow’s (today’s) meeting, the invitation we got was from the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President (Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila) and that is where previous meetings have been held.

    “The Minister of Labour has no place in the current industrial relations.”

    NLC begins strike in Imo Wednesday

    Despite the Abuja meeting, the NLC has asked workers in Imo to withdraw their services in protest of alleged unfair labour treatment by the state government. 

    The Congress said it would embark on a protest on Wednesday. 

    The NLC said there would be a total shutdown of economic activities in Imo.

    All workers from all affiliate unions of the Congress are expected to be on the streets to press home their demands.

    Ajaero said the Congress has already commenced mass mobilisation of its members across affiliate unions for the showdown in Owerri. 

    The NLC president said Labour was “deeply concerned about the persistent and egregious violations of the rights and privileges of workers in the state by the Imo State Government”.

    He lamented that despite repeated efforts to engage in constructive dialogue and reach amicable agreements, “the state government had become a habitual and serial breaker of these agreements”.

    Ajaero said the state, having “continued to trample on the rights of workers, left them with no choice but to embark on mass protests and industrial actions beginning on the 1st day of November 2023 to demonstrate our outrage and stop the continuing violation of the rights and privileges of workers.”

    He accused the state government of relying on its “powers to deploy the fierce and coercive forces of the state against trade unions and their leadership to continue on this line of action.”

    Court stops NLC’s ‘Occupy Imo’ strike

    But the National Industrial Court in Owerri has issued an extended interim injunction restraining Labour from embarking on strike. 

    The NLC and Trade Union Congress (TUC) were further ordered not to embark on Occupy Imo as planned.

    The court warned against the disobedience of its order. 

    Justice Ogbuanya gave the order after hearing the submissions of the Attorney-General of Imo State, C. O. C. Akaolisa and the defendants’ counsel, N.A. Nnawuchi (SAN).

    Akaolisa prayed the court to grant an extended interim order against the defendants in view of their fresh threat to embark on strike through Occupy Imo.

    The defendants are the NLC and its Secretary General, Emmanuel Ugboaja and the TUC and its Secretary General, Nuhu Toro.

    In the suit numbered NICN/ OW/41/2023, the state government said since there is a subsisting order restraining the defendants from going on strike, the order should be extended. 

    It informed the court in an affidavit that Labour was currently mobilising its members from the Southeast and Southsouth to Occupy Imo from Wednesday.

    After hearing from both counsel in the suit, the court granted the order of extended interim injunction restraining the defendants from embarking on any strike in whatever guise.

    “The order of interim injunction earlier granted against the defendants is hereby extended till the next adjourned date. 

    “Parties are hereby directed to be mindful of consequences of disobedience of extant order of the court in a pending suit before the court in line with the provisions of Order 63, Rule 4 of the Rules of this Court,” the court ruled. 

    Justice Ogbuanya adjourned till Friday.

  • NLC awaits Abia govt’s decision on salary awards

    NLC awaits Abia govt’s decision on salary awards

    The leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said they were awaiting the decision of state governments over the wage award as recently announced by the Federal Government.

    Abia State chairman of the workers union, Comrade Paschal Nweke, in a phone interview with our correspondent, said the union was awaiting the response of state governments following a letter that they submitted on the implementation of the outcome of the meeting between the national leadership of the union, the federal and members of the Nigeria Governor’s Forum, which was the reason the union and affiliate associations suspended their planned October 3 nationwide strike.

    Information gathered by our correspondent has it that Abia State Government had already set up a committee to look into the matter and come up with plans on how to ensure the implementation of the decision in the state.

    A source in the government who pleaded not to be mentioned disclosed that the state government was going to make its decision public as soon as the committee finished its assignment.

    Governor Alex Otti yesterday revealed how his administration was making life bearable for the citizens, who have had to contend with economic difficulties arising from the removal of petrol subsidy by the Federal Government.

    Governor Otti said his administration had supported businesses and economically vulnerable persons to weather the harsh effects of petrol subsidy removal.

    Speaking on the topic, “Petrol Subsidy Removal: Dealing with the Challenges, Harnessing the Opportunities,” Governor Otti said his administration met a very difficult situation on ground upon assuming office.

    “The day I was sworn in as governor was also the day the removal of subsidy on petrol was announced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. So, we met a very difficult situation that needed to be carefully managed,” the governor, a first-class economist, said in his 32-page lecture paper.

    He continued: “We began by offering a message of hope to the people, assuring the civil servants that the era of owing salaries was gone and that by the 28th of every month, legitimate workers of the state civil service would receive their full entitlements. We soon followed up by paying part of the accumulated arrears from the previous government. 

    “We are progressively supporting our civil servants by keeping to our commitment to prompt and regular payment of salaries and also clearing up arrears in order to increase the amount of disposable cash available to those in our employ.

    “We have also put in mechanisms that will make for smooth and seamless payment of pensions to all retirees as soon as they sign out from the state civil service. So far, appreciable progress has been made and I can tell you that while a few teething problems remain, our pensioners are beginning to see clear signals that in the New Abia we are building, owing senior citizens their entitlements will be an anathema.

    “Beyond just paying them, we have also directed the Ministry of Health to enrol a certain category of pensioners in the state into a health insurance scheme that guarantees steady access to quality health care for our retirees. So far, 4,700 pensioners have been enrolled and we shall add to this number in the months ahead.”

    Read Also: NLCC launches innovative programme to enhance children cancer treatment

    Governor Otti said his government had stopped the collection of all forms of levies and taxes from micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and given them tax holiday as a way of supporting their businesses.

    “We are continuing to streamline the revenue collection process to enable efficiency, cut out double taxation and make the system independent in ways that limit the activities of middle men. Through the appropriate agencies and boards, we have also harmonised the revenue collection process, working with local governments to adopt a single collection framework for ease of tax administration and convenience for all parties,” he said.

    According to the governor, the current government in Abia is very business-friendly and plans to make the state the leading MSME hub in all of Africa.

    He urged students who intend to go into entrepreneurship on graduation to look no farther than Abia State, saying: “It is our conviction that when MSMEs are well funded and supported, the problems of unemployment and poverty, critical metrics for measuring economic development, will be curtailed and people can live in dignity.”

    Speaking about the palliatives sent to the states by the Federal Government, Governor Otti announced that about 19,000 bags (50kg) of rice were received from the Federal Government and have been distributed to the “poorest of the poor” in communities across the state.

    Similarly, the governor said the State Palliatives Management Committee had been directed to study how the state government could invest the N2 billion palliative fund it got from the Federal Government into mass transit schemes with a view to reducing the cost of transportation for commuters plying intra and intercity routes.

    He spoke about plans to pay transport-support allowance to civil servants and to raise salaries by a certain percentage, depending on grade levels. 

    “The aim is to cushion the harsh impact of the rising inflationary trend on their earnings and support them to provide the basic things for their families,” he said.

    Other critical areas where the governor said his administration had been working hard to mitigate the biting effect of petrol subsidy removal and general economic downturn in the country were health, road and manufacturing.

    He said the state government had launched free medical service programmes in all public hospitals “so that in this period of economic difficulties, lack of cash will not stop people from attending to their health needs”. 

    According to him, so far, thousands of individuals including pregnant women, nursing mothers, and others with various ailments have been attended to. The on-going free medical services, the governor said, cover surgeries, including eye operations, drugs, laboratory, scans and related diagnostic services.

    On road infrastructure, Governor Otti said that the ongoing renovation and reconstruction works are aimed at increasing investments in the state which ultimately would lead to higher employment opportunities for “our young people” and expansion of businesses.

    “The ultimate agenda is to systematically improve the investment climate in Abia so that the environment does not sabotage the efforts of our entrepreneurs, who pass through severe difficulties to remain in business.

    “While we do these for the small business, we are not closing our eyes to the big ones. It is in this light that a few days ago, we flagged off what promises to be one of the largest industrial parks in West Africa, the Abia Industrial and Innovation Park, in Owaza, Ukwa West. 

    “When completed, the park would boast of a modular refinery, a petrochemical and fertiliser plant, a technology hub, a gas processing facility, agricultural processing zone, a sea port, amongst other facilities. 

    “Major International Oil and Gas companies have indicated interest to locate at the prospective Export Processing Zone as it would have a 24-hour uninterruptible gas powered electricity,” he affirmed.

  • Now, a reprieve

    Now, a reprieve

    • It’s time for Labour movement and government to review their role relation

    Since the advent of the Fourth Republic, the Labour movement has been playing the role of an adversary to governments at the federal and sub-national levels. Perhaps it is a spillover mentality from the military years when the men in khaki used coercion to get everyone in the country into line. Civil society groups were at odds with that culture and forged alliance with Labour, the media, the academia and students movements.

    More than two decades on, Labour has allowed that mentality to define its relationship with the various governments since then. At every point when Labour felt that the public was feeling uneasy at implementation of policies, it “rolled out the tanks,” threatening to apply maximum pressure to control and direct public policy in whatever direction it preferred. The October 3 “indefinite and total strike” that failed to take off was one example. A united Labour movement said it had mobilised all its members, including those in essential services including aviation, power, petroleum upstream, among others to “shut down” the economy. Why the workers thought that to be the solution to the hardship in the country is not clear. It is good, however, that good sense eventually prevailed.

    Read Also: NLC/TUC strike; in whose interest?

    The Federal Government that is constitutionally saddled with industrial relations, too, must realise that workers are important to the production process and running the affairs of the nation. It should not wait until strike actions are declared before securing the understanding of workers’ representatives.

    Governments in Nigeria since the Cost of Living Allowance strike of 1945 have failed to regard the Labour movement as a partner in progress. Labour, understandably at the time, as well saw itself as a partner of the burgeoning radical arm of the nationalist movement and was still learning to understand the transition from the colonial to the independent era when the military swept away the elected post-colonial government. The longer the military held the reins of government, the more it grew disdainful of democratic forces. At some point, it even legislated against discussing national affairs in the public space. It was in that context that Labour kicked and fought. As was the case for other sectors and institutions, the military government had no time for “tantrums” by Labour leaders who were seen and treated like irritants.

    Read Also: Nigeria@63: Oyo NLC, TUC shun parade

    But the circumstance has changed, it is no longer the same setting. If at the inception of this Republic, Labour could not easily forge new strategies and tactics for its primary role of seeking better living standards for its members, it has the blame for still living in them beyond nearly a quarter of a century into the new dispensation.

    In under four months of the Bola Tinubu presidency, Labour has moved from the threat of a strike that was averted by court injunction on the eve of breaching industrial peace, to a warning strike that recorded partial success, and then to the October 3 aborted strike. When that tool is overused, it loses its cutting edge. So, Labour should device means of engaging with government in its bid to protect workers’ interests and project the national interest, as it understands, above all else.

    Labour, civil society, the academic community as well as the organised private sector should push for inclusive governance that would protect their interests from within the system. Nigerian political parties are diverse and broad enough to represent all segments of the society, and many of those in the current ruling party had themselves been activists in the past. They should be used by both camps as links. The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) should realise that the government does not exist for workers in the public service alone. Most times that they mobilise all workers, and sometimes a wing of the civil society to bare their fangs, they only come up with demands for more wages that only push up the inflationary trend. Nigeria is currently faced with multifaceted challenges that require all hands on deck of a ship sailing at sea and being tossed by storm.

    All must be ready to make sacrifices, but national leaders have to work hard at earning citizens’ confidence. The Tinubu administration inherited much of the baggage it is carrying and should be given time to sort things out. But, the government should start showing its difference from its predecessors by faithfully implementing every agreement with Labour and others. It starts with fidelity to the famous social contract.

  • Why FG must pay N200,000 to workers, by NLC

    Why FG must pay N200,000 to workers, by NLC

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) says it believes the new minimum wage should be negotiated to N100,000 or N200,000 owing to the growing cost of living in the country.

    The union and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) had intended to embark on strike on Tuesday, October 4, as a result of the impact of the fuel subsidy removal.

    The labour unions, however, decided to shelve the planned strike after meeting with government officials in Abuja on Monday, October 2.

    The President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero, stated that the agreement was aimed at granting the government an opportunity to meet its commitments as agreed with organized labour.

    He clarified that the N35,000 wage increment, among the government’s concessions, is not a new minimum wage, adding that the minimum wage might reach as high as N200,000.

    Read Also: NLC should not exacerbate workers’ plight

    He said: “So, it is not a minimum wage but it is a wage added to the minimum wage. So, should we in March, April, or before that time negotiate the new wage to be N100,000 or N200,000, it would be inscribed as minimum wage law which should be the law in existence,” he said on Channels TV

    Emphasizing that the N35,000 wage award is not an addition to the country’s minimum wage of N30,000, the NLC president said many factors would be considered in arriving at a new minimum wage.

    “Certain things would come into play when we discuss it – inflation, cost of living. Every other thing would come into it. We would not go to ask for N65,000. We would go for a realistic amount because N65,000 is about $70 which is not up to minimum wage.

    “The minimum wage is a product of law. Until it is legislated in the National Assembly, it is not a minimum wage.”

  • NLC should not exacerbate workers’ plight

    NLC should not exacerbate workers’ plight

    • By Bukola Ajisola

    Sir: Listening to the chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers on why his members would not join the NLC in its avowed industrial action scheduled to commence October 3, he articulated in unequivocal terms what has been the reservation of many Nigerians on the route NLC is taking.

    The chairman was able to establish a nexus between the industrial action and worsening impoverishment of his members who depend solely on daily income and daily means of defraying the annuities of vehicles they took on hire purchases.

    It does seem the NLC whilst looking at shoring up its underwhelming image of inaction spanning several years is oblivious of the interests of the overwhelming demographics of sectors placed at the receiving ends of the strikes.

    Manufacturers who have been badly hit by the Covid-19 headwinds are barely coming out of the vicissitudes, the indefinite strike is sure to trigger a reversal of their productive capacity and further complicate the path to recovery.

    Given the interdependence and interconnectedness of various sectors of the economy, if the economy was projected to inhale a breather of recovery in the next 24 months, an indefinite strike is sure to delay it further by additional 12 months depending on the duration of the strike. At the end of this needless dithering, the image of the NLC could be ramped up as a stallion of anti-establishment cry-bully and nothing more.

    Read Also: Subsidy removal: You are sabotaging Tinubu’s interventions, Osun APC tackles Adeleke

    Some of the demands of the NLC as much as they are laudable are not achievable in the short run. The CNG converter kits are not available on the shelves of manufacturers; they will need to be pre-ordered. This is one of those denouements the NLC ought to have initiated with the Buhari administration in their boring and protracted negotiations.

     The second component of the Labour’s collective bargaining instrument is wage award which was addressed in President Bola Tinubu’s Independence Day broadcast. The question is why can’t the NLC allow a little more time as a stopgap for interrogating the broadcast and putting it in the context of the palliative of N5 billion per state already being implemented?

    This indefinite strike would remain as ill-advised as it is suspicious.  Asking Nigerians to stockpile foodstuffs with their meagre resources in anticipation of a not too colourful strike is a nonstarter and needs further rethinking and urgent retraction by the NLC.

    The impropriety of the strike notwithstanding, the government and its team of negotiators must put Nigerians to speed on the implementation of the wage awards and the shifts in the paradigm of transportation with a collective resolve never to allow petroleum subsidies a foothold on the nation’s economy going forward.

    •Bukola Ajisola, 

    bukymany@yahoo.com

  • Governors, CAN to NLC: reconsider strike, be patient

    Governors, CAN to NLC: reconsider strike, be patient

    Governors and religious leaders yesterday called on the organised Labour to reconsider the recourse to strike and exercise patience as the government works to rejuvenate the economy.

    Benue State Governor Rev Hyacinth Alia appealed to the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) to exercise little more patience. He said the government was working round the clock to meet their demands.

    Pointing out that his administration does not take regular payment of pensions, gratuity and salaries as achievements, the governor restated the determination to sustain the practice of stabilising welfare package of the state’s workforce.

    Speaking during the commemoration of Nigeria’s 63rd Independence Day celebration yesterday, Alia said his government has left the door opened for innovative ideas and constructive criticisms, adding that corruption and nepotism are already being relegated, especially as the administration is poised to foist the flags of merit, equity, equality, justice and fairness in all its dealings.

    Ekiti State Governor Biodun Oyebanji urged the Labour to exercise patience, noting that industrial action would only compound the already tensed situation.

    According to him, Labour should sheathe its sword and exhaust the avenue of dialogue to resolve issues around the planned strike action in the best interest of the country.

    Oyebanji made the appeal yesterday in a statewide broadcast to the people of the state to commemorate the creation of Ekiti state and the 63rd Independence Anniversary of Nigeria.

    Read Also: PDP will not exceed four years in Osun, says APC council chair

    He said: “I want to appeal to the organised Labour movement to exercise absolute patience and dialogue in resolving the current economic challenges. We cannot afford to compound the already tensed situation by shutting down this extremely fragile economy. It will be like cutting one’s nose to spite one’s own face.

    “Whatever may be gained thereafter will be nothing but a temporary victory which would have done an incalculable damage to the economy and which may be difficult to reverse in the immediate.

    “On our part, we have undertaken some interventions to cushion the impact of the subsidy removal on our people. Apart from the direct food distribution and cash transfer to the most vulnerable, government has also made buses available to staff and students, especially in the state capital, to ameliorate the cost of transportation. We therefore appeal to our local governments to replicate this in their respective local government areas.

    “Beyond this however, is that, the Federal Government has promised that there will be a wage review across board soonest. The good news is that, even, for those not earning salaries directly from government, with more money available for workers as more disposable income and more money for government to undertake critical infrastructure development, more jobs will be available and the circular flow of money will ensure that the current monetary challenges will give way to the envisaged shared prosperity.”

    The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) President, Archbishop Daniel Okoh advised the government and Labour unions to resolve the lingering crisis of fuel subsidy removal and the moves to embark on strike.

    He said: “CAN is aware of the ongoing negotiations between the Federal Government and Labour unions regarding the removal of fuel subsidies. We urge both parties to find a balanced solution that minimizes the impact on vulnerable Nigerians.

    “The removal of subsidies is a significant economic adjustment with far-reaching consequences. We understand the government’s reasons but acknowledge the resulting distress and hardship.

    “As we celebrate Nigeria’s 63rd Independence anniversary, let us not forget the challenges that confront us. CAN remains committed to promoting initiatives towards a prosperous and peaceful Nigeria. By doing so, we can achieve sustainable development, foster peace, and create a nation where every Nigerian can thrive.”

    The Abia State government yesterday stated that it has shared all the palliatives it received from the federal government to the poorest of the poor in the state.

    It stated that there were ongoing moves for other beneficial plans for the citizens of the state, especially in the area of transportation.

  • Conspiracy against Feb 25 poll continues

    Conspiracy against Feb 25 poll continues

    By Friday, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) were still adamant about their ‘indefinite and total’ strike beginning on Tuesday. They declined to meet with the ad hoc federal delegation raised to address their grievances. The negotiations and the strike threat began inauspiciously and conjunctively in June. Admittedly, the negotiations have been largely desultory, punctuated by the order of the National Industrial Court (NIC) temporarily barring the unions from calling a strike. Since June, the strike threat has been hurled around many times, positioned almost like the sword of Damocles on the head of the Bola Tinubu administration. The temper of the president’s October 1 Independence anniversary address is unknown: whether it will be a damp squib or it will take the wind out of the unions’ sails. Subject to that anniversary address and the interpretation of the NIC order, it is expected that more strike threats will be issued in the months ahead. The reason is that the economy is so damaged by debts and systemic inefficiency, and the country’s foundational structure so weakened and compromised by years of exploitation and corruption, that it is unlikely there will be an easy meeting of minds between the government and the unions in the near future. Indeed, the whole strike threat has become a political witch-hunt.

    While it is true that the Tinubu administration has approached the union grievances with less assiduousness than expected, and has been unconvincing and sometimes provocative about cost-cutting, it is even truer that the NLC in particular has been fanatical and conspiratorial about embarking on strike, regardless of its combustible consequences. The NLC is inseparable from the Labour Party (LP) which lost the February 25 presidential poll, and both have since remained bitter and inconsolable. Workers have legitimate right to respond angrily to spiraling cost of food and fuel and other services such as healthcare and education, but it is not clear from the demands of the unions that they have an understanding of the enormity of the damage done to the economy in the past two decades or so. Nor is it certain that they know that the problems cannot be rectified in a few months or even years, let alone a little more than hundred days.

    Read Also: Tinubu, Sultan urge NLC, TUC to shelve proposed strike

    Two things are painfully clear. One is that whether the unions acknowledge it or not, or whether they deny involvement or not, a conspiracy is afoot to conjure a different outcome to the February 25 poll. Many names have been mentioned, and the security services are obviously aware of the roles being played by various actors. Things will, therefore, probably get to a head sooner rather than later, while the consequences, one way or the other, are unlikely to be pleasant. Alarmingly, too, the conspiracies and incitement have taken a definite, ethnic twist. Students of history are generally less romantic about civil disorder and revolutions, for no one is able to predict their outcomes. But these drawbacks will not dissuade those advocating street protests or the total collapse of the system. The second issue is that in responding to these and many more budding crises besetting the country, the Tinubu administration itself has been inscrutably less surefooted. The president’s kitchen cabinet has so far not demonstrated the overarching expertise sufficient to inspire confidence. The administration has focused almost exclusively on designing policies potent enough to tackle the country’s economic crisis almost to the detriment of assembling ad hoc teams to shape and explicate its responses to the crises.

    Moreover, the cabinet is curiously large, though redeemed by the presence of many bright minds who are evidently an asset to the country. Blending them into one powerful defensive and attack team has, however, proved herculean. More importantly, no one, including the president himself, has really and exhaustively spoken to the magnitude and depth of the country’s economic crisis in order to put the unions’ noses out of joint. The unions have a superficial and insular understanding of issues, and are even more naïve about the solutions. Until the administration saturates the media space with the enormity of the crisis the country faces, even to the point of exposing the culpability of the previous administration, few will appreciate the enormity of the crises, while the unions continue to exploit the pains of the gullible. Printing trillions of naira and distorting the economy in the midst of massive infrastructural collapse, in addition to allowing insecurity to become cancerous, will not be resolved quietly and painlessly. Conspiring to delegitimise the presidential poll and inciting public revolt will also not help resolve the crises as ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo and others romanticise. Sadly, in these parts, and in particular in the past few months, protests do not seem designed to coax the administration into rethinking its panaceas but to serve as witch-hunt; they are tailored towards system collapse whose end and scope no one can foretell, not to talk of manage.

  • Strike: Rivers NLC, TUC direct members to comply with proposed action

    Strike: Rivers NLC, TUC direct members to comply with proposed action

    The leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have directed members of their unions in Rivers State to comply with the proposed October 3rd strike.

    The state chairpersons of NLC, Alex Agwangwor, and TUC, Ikechukwu Onyefuru, gave the directive on Friday, September 29, at the end of their joint executive council meeting in Port Harcourt.

    Read Also: Negotiate with state govts, NEC tells NLC, TUC

    Their joint statement directed to the workers said: “You are hereby kindly requested to ensure full mobilization for total compliance.”