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  • Planned strike: NLC keeps Federal Govt in suspense

    Planned strike: NLC keeps Federal Govt in suspense

    • SGF, ministers meet with VP Shettima
    • Labour state chapters waiting for go ahead

    Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has kept the government in suspense hours to expiration of its 14 days strike notice.

    The strike plan, according to the NLC, is to express displeasure over the painful effects of the removal of petrol subsidy by the Federal Government.

    Although, the Federal Government, has given N2 billion each as first installment of the total N5 billion to states for purchase of food items and fertilizers for Nigerians as palliatives for the subsidy pain.

    The government has also announced other cushioning measures.

    But the NLC is not persuaded. It carried out a two-day warning strike, which recorded mixed compliance.

    Yesterday, Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong and Minister of State (Employment and Labour) Nkiruka Onyejeocha met with Vice President Kashim Shettima on the proposed strike.

    Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) George Akume also met with the Vice President.

    At the end of the meeting, they all expressed optimism that the NLC will shelve the strike “in the nation’s interest”.

    Leaders of NLC kept themselves incommunicado in Abuja as reporters made efforts to find out their moves on the strike.

    Lalong expressed  optimism that the “cordiality and friendly mood” of the engagements between government and the organised Labour so far, is an indication that the strike will not hold.

    The Minister, who  declined to give a categorical answer on whether the strike will proceed on not, said “as for me I don’t think there is any problem. We’re moving very fine with them, with the Nigerian labour and posture of the President too is towards good welfare for the Labour in Nigeria, so we have no doubt.

    “That’ why in many of the meetings we’ve had with them we are not ending up boxing ourselves, we were smiling, all of us, with hope that the best is going to come”, he said. 

    When asked about the strike, he said “which strike? We’re still… No, don’t worry about it. That’s why I said it’s a friendly engagement we’re having with them. We didn’t have any fear about some of the things”.

    When asked if the Federal Government had obtained any assurance from the organised Labour that the planned strike would be shelved, Lalong said “I don’t want to say that, I’m not the NLC  President.

    Onyejeocha added “there’s nothing to say, we have answered you on exactly what we are here for and so that’s what it is. We’re continuing to discuss with our brothers and sisters and that’s what it is”.

    Also  Akume  expressed optimism that the organised Labour would be reasonable in its actions as a strike in the current state would be in no one’s interest.

    Expressing the belief that issues concerning the strike would be addressed amicably, he called on the organized  labour to be patient as the government finds solution to their demands.

    “The Labour leaders are very patriotic Nigerians and we want to believe correctly that nobody would want to have a strike at this time of our history because it is not in the interest of the workers and it is not in the interest of anybody.

    “This government is very determined to raise the standard of living of the Nigerian workers and to create prosperity for all and that is not something that can be done overnight. So it will be inappropriate to begin to judge the government on the basis of the few months that it has spent in office,” Akume stated.

    It was learnt yesterday from various state councils of the NLC that there had been no directive to proceed on strike from the National Secretariat.

    But Oyo State NLC chair Kayode Martins said the national leadership of the Union has agreed to give the Federal Government till tomorrow (Friday) to address its demands before taking a decision.

    He said the national leadership after meeting with other leadership said the time frame is to allow the Federal Government make open its action  plans on addressing the request placed before it by the workers union and the affiliates.

    On the situation in Oyo State, Comrade Martins said a meeting with leaders from both the NLC and her counterpart, TUC has been scheduled for today.

    Read Also: TUC, NLC differ on modalities for planned strike

    He said the workers  had yet to receive any form of palliatives from the state government despite its promises and continuous reassurances.

    He said efforts to reach the state government for the palliative had not yielded any positive results.

    He said the workers leadership will not rest on its oars or give up on pursuing the interest of the workers.

    He added that the NLC/TUC state Executive Council at the meeting on Thursday (today) will take a stand on the next move.

    Osun State Acting NLC chairperson, Mrs Modupe Oyedele said: “We are yet to receive any directive from the national secretariat on the planned strike but we have no choice, if the national secretariat issues a directive, we will comply.”

    Plateau NLC chair Comrade Eugene Manji said we have not been communicated to or even received any memo, notifying them about the date or time of the strike.

    As far as the chapter is concerned, any time we are informed of any development on the strike , the workers on the Plateau are fully ready to participate.

    Edo State NLC chair Comrade Odion Olaye also said no directive had been received.

    The NLC had threatened an indefinite “shut down of the economy” starting from today.

    But the TUC differs with the NLC on the proposed strike. The TUC, which also did not join the NLC for the two-day warning strike, met with the Labour minister on Monday and agreed to give the government more time to allow the President to return from his mission at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.

  • TUC, NLC differ on modalities for planned strike

    TUC, NLC differ on modalities for planned strike

    The division between Labour unions over the planned indefinite strike widened yesterday.

    Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) leaders clashed on a live television programme over modalities for the action.

    The disagreement was triggered by a claim attributed to NLC President Joe Ajaero that the TUC could not back out of a strike without giving notice.

    The 21-day notice given by the Ajaero-led NLC to the Federal Government to call its members out on an indefinite strike expires tomorrow.

    The two-day warning strike by the NLC on September 5 and 6 was boycotted by the TUC, whose President, Festus Osifo, argued that there was no basis for such action when the Federal Government and Labour leaders were in talks.

    But yesterday, Ajaero said: “From what you can see from our last warning strike, you see that we can do it alone. We can work independently; we can work jointly when we agree.

    The TUC president said the Congress never served any notice to go on strike.

    He said the union gave the representatives of the Federal Government a week since they solicited more time for President Bola Tinubu to return from the ongoing United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, United States.

    Osifo said: “Initially, they asked for two weeks, but we rejected it. Then, they came to one week. We will meet to review the situation and come up with a joint position.

    “For us in TUC, we feel that it is always better when we work together, when we synergise because governments all over the world are coming together. It will be too bad if we cannot come together. Whichever way we look at it, it is always better to work together.

    “In terms of organsied Labour being disorganised, I would agree to that claim because our aim is to ensure the masses are taken care of.”

    Read Also: Governor’s wife urges action against domestic violence

    The TUC leader dismissed insinuations that the government had broken the ranks of Labour because of the disagreement between the two Labour centres on the planned strike.

    Both organisations, Osifo noted, have same goal – to achieve the best for the country.

    He said: “If the government thinks it has broken the ranks of Labour, it should have a rethink because that is not correct. The TUC or NLC can call government to the table for dialogue.  Our goal is the same… to achieve the best for Nigeria.

    According to the TUC boss, the Congress was never consulted for strike and that it did not reach agreement with NLC.

    He said: “We looked at everything and felt it was not time to go on strike. We did not agree at any forum with the NLC to go on strike. We didn’t renege because there was no prior agreement. We did not back out of the strike we didn’t call.”

    Osifo explained that before announcing a strike, the protocol is for one union to reach out to the other for a conversation, leading to a joint strategy by the unions.

    The TUC president said: “In that plan, there are a lot of things that are looked at. You define your clear-cut strategy; you define the timing. You define how you’re going to isolate the downtrodden Nigerians. All these things are defined before both parties will now come and announce a strike action.

    “But in this case, I can authoritatively tell you that the TUC was never contacted in any way. It was the same way Nigerians saw it in the media that there was a warning strike on so-and-so day. So, when we saw it, we were amazed.”

    Osifo said that enquiries on members’ group chats necessitated the action from the union’s leadership, including its National Administrative Council (NAC), Central Working Committee (CWC), and National Executive Council (NEC).

     He said: “Some of our officers were detailed to follow up, but there was no clear-cut response. In our meetings, we x-rayed the issues from the beginning to the end. We looked at the issues of the time and strategy; we looked at everything holistically.”

    “After looking at it, TUC felt that there was no time for TUC to go on strike. You will renege when there is a plan. So, if both parties agree to do something and one party now says, ‘No, I am no longer doing it,’ that is when you backtrack.”

  • Fed Govt, NLC ‘fruitful’ talks on palliatives to continue

    Fed Govt, NLC ‘fruitful’ talks on palliatives to continue

    The Federal Government/Labour talk on how to mitigate the effect of subsidy removal ended in deadlock yesterday.

    Government and the Nigerian Labour Congress(NLC) failed to reach a compromise on post-subsidy removal palliatives for workers.

    But they agreed to resume negotiations on the demands by the organised labour on Thursday.

    A  21-day ultimatum given by the NLC to the government to either meet the demands or face an indefinite strike expires at midnight of that day(Thursday).

    NLC PresidentJoe Ajaero and Minister of Labour and Employment Simon Lalong described yesterday’s meeting as “fruitful and very robust.”

    Labour which had last week embarked on a two-day warning strike, wants the government to, among others, institute wage awards for public sector workers, pay allowances and exempt them from tax payments.

    Other demands include provision of Compressed Natural Gas buses, release of modalities for the N70bn for Small and Medium Enterprises, release of officials of the National Union of Road Transport Workers(NURTW) by the police, resolution of Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) crisis in Lagos.

    It also seeks immediate reversal of all anti-poor policies of the government such as the recent hike in petrol price, increase in public school fees,  release of the eight months withheld salaries of university teachers and workers as well as the increase in Value Added Tax (VAT).

    Ajaero told reporters after the meeting convened by Lalong that labour was ready to meet the government team any time  to continue the talks.  

    He flayed the Police for plotting a “coup” in NURTW, saying labour would not compromise on that. 

    The labour leader said: “ We had a fruitful deliberation and we have agreed to continue to make sure we arrive at a meaningful agreement within the remaining days of the ultimatum.

    “We discussed frankly the issue bordering the coup floated and executed by the Nigeria Police against NURTW  which has led to the detention of their democratically elected national officers. Both parties agreed to show concern towards the resolution of the matter.

    “It is one sore area that the trade union movement in Nigeria is not ready to compromise.

    “Whether a coup in the trade union movement or in the polity, it must be condemned; whether it is in Niger Republic, Congo or Mali or in the trade union movement in Nigeria. 

    “On the other issues, you can see that there was no agreement or implementation on any. There is no CNG anywhere. Refineries are not working. No agreement on wage awards. Those are the issues we believe that something will happen before the ultimatum expires. It is possible that something will happen.

    “We had a convivial deliberation with the minister and we hope that even if it is remaining one day, we will get to the root of all these problems. “Whenever we are invited, we will be there. Both parties will work towards the realisation of these objectives before the last minute of the ultimatum.

    “There is a larger committee that has set up technical committees. The ministry has performed its role to mediate and conciliate the problem between us and the government. There is an inter-ministerial committee at the Presidency level which is supposed to address these issues.

    “The Ministry of Labour can’t address wage awards, the issue of CNG, refineries and others. The ministry has mediated to ensure that there is no problem or get both parties to resolve these issues.

    “We are ready to engage the government whether in the night or day; we are ready to engage but not at gunpoint.”

    Before the meeting went into a closed-door session, Ajaero   explained that the September  5 and 6 warning strike by labour  was a “product of frustration caused by the economic situation in the country.”

    He  lamented    that  “none of the demands put before the Federal Government had been addressed..”

    The NLC leader expressed worry over the lack of trust between the government and the union in the negotiation process.

    Ajaero said: “We came with mixed feelings about whether it will work or not because we have had many meetings, some beyond this level, yet nothing seems to be coming out of it. But I have great optimism in the Nigerian project; we can’t stop trying. We are here with the belief that something may happen. But that doubt, that trust gap is what we feared for a long time now and it calls for lamentation.

    “The strike is an effect of a policy that doesn’t have a human face. There was no strike before the removal of the fuel subsidy. It was the government that told us to ask for palliatives and increased wages. We have asked for them and nothing is happening.  That warning strike was a product of frustration.

    “We must work together to ensure that we don’t keep on dragging these issues. It is the Nigerian people that are being affected, they are the people that are suffering. We have a lot of demands that we have put on paper for the government. There is the issue of CNG, refineries working, wage awards and cash transfers. Of all these agreements, not even one has been addressed by the government and you want us to meet every day.

    “Some of us have been around for a long time and our job is not to go on strike but when you enter into an agreement that agreement should be implemented. Before the warning strike, we raised the issues of palliatives and wage awards and the NURTW.

    “Nobody earning N30,000 or N60,000 will buy fuel for one week. We need to find solutions to all these problems and we have articulated them. Each time we finish, they (government) ask for time. They asked for eight weeks we gave them. They asked for four weeks and we gave them. We don’t know what to tell our colleagues or members again. “

    Lalong, who also briefed reporters,  thanked the labour leaders for attending the meeting.

    His words:”Our meeting was very robust. It was a fruitful meeting. Many of the items presented by Labour are still under consideration before the final agreement or discussions.

    “It was a fruitful meeting and we thank them  for their very useful contributions.”

    Lalong assured the labour leaders that the government was committed to addressing all the issues that led to the warning strike.

    The minister, however,  said the government must strike a balance that promotes economic growth and secures sustainable progress. 

    His words: “In recent months, our country has witnessed teething challenges, marked by industrial actions and unrest that have adversely affected the economy.

    “I appear before you today(yesterday) not just as a representative of the government, but as an advocate for constructive dialogue, aspiring to understand your concerns and working hand in hand to find lasting solutions that benefit all Nigerians.

    “I fully acknowledge and appreciate the invaluable role the NLC plays in championing the rights and welfare of our workers. We acknowledge the valid grievances that have fueled the recent labour crisis  and we are committed to addressing them in a just and equitable manner.”

  • Why we embarked on two-day warning strike, by NLC

    Why we embarked on two-day warning strike, by NLC

    The Nigeria Labour Congress NLC has said the two-day warning strike it declared on September 5 and 6 was a “product of frustration caused by the economic situation in the country.”

    President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero said this during a meeting with Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong on Monday, September 18, in Abuja.

    Before the meeting went into a closed-door session, Ajaero said, “None of the demands put before the federal government had been addressed.”

    Some of the demands of the NLC and the Trade Union Congress included: wage award, tax exemptions and allowances to public sector workers, provision of Compressed Natural Gas buses, the release of modalities for the N70bn for Small and Medium Enterprises, the release of officials of the National Union of Road Transport Workers by the police among others.

    He lamented the lack of trust between the government and the union in the negotiation process.

    Ajaero said: “We came with mixed feeling about whether it will work or not because we have had many meetings, some beyond this level, yet nothing seem to be coming out of it. But I have great optimism in the Nigerian project; we can’t stop trying. We are here with the belief that something may happen. But that doubt, that trust gap is what we feared for a long time now and it calls for lamentation.

    “The strike is an effect of a policy that doesn’t have a human face. There was no strike before the removal of the fuel subsidy. It was the government that said ask for palliatives, ask for wages and we have asked for it. That warning strike was a product of frustration, up till this moment.

    “We must work together to ensure that we don’t keep on dragging these issues. It is the Nigerian people that are being affected, they are the people that are suffering. We have a lot of demands that we have put on paper for the government. There is the issue of CNG, refineries working, wage awards and cash transfers. Of all these agreements, not even one has been addressed by the government and you want us to meet every day.

    “Some of us have been around for a long time and our job is not to go on strike but when you enter into an agreement that agreement should be implemented. Before the warning strike, we raised the issues of palliatives and wage awards and the NURTW.

    “Nobody earning N30,000 or N60,000 will buy fuel for one week. We need to find solutions to all these problems and we have articulated them. Each time we finish they ask for time. They asked for eight weeks we gave them. They asked for four weeks we gave them. We don’t know what to tell our colleagues or members again. We hope that at the end of this meeting we will have something to tell our members. This is a neck breaking meeting.”

    In his remarks, Lalong assured the labour leaders that the government was committed to addressing all the issues that led to their warning strike.

    The minister, however, said that the government must be mindful of striking a balance that promotes economic growth and secures sustainable progress for the nation as it attempts to address the demands of Labour.

    Read Also: Planned indefinite strike: Again, FG invites NLC

    Lalong said: “In recent months, our country has witnessed teething challenges, marked by industrial actions and unrest that have adversely affected the economy. I appear before you today not just as a representative of the government, but as an advocate for constructive dialogue, aspiring to understand your concerns and working hand in hand to find lasting solutions that benefit all Nigerians.

    “I fully acknowledge and appreciate the invaluable role the NLC plays in championing for the rights and welfare of our workers. Your dedication and tireless advocacy have been critical in shaping a fair and inclusive work environment and ensuring the wellbeing of our workforce. We acknowledge the valid grievances that have fueled the recent labour crisis, and we are committed to addressing them in a just and equitable manner.

    “We must also recognise the economic realities that confront us. As we address the concerns of our workforce, we must be mindful of striking a balance that promotes economic growth and secures sustainable progress for our nation. Today, I call upon each one of you to join hands in an open-minded and constructive dialogue, enabling us to bridge any gaps that may exist between the interests of workers and the ultimate goal of driving economic advancement.”

  • Fed Govt, NLC meet over planned strike

    Fed Govt, NLC meet over planned strike

    Talks between the Federal Government and the Nigerian Labour Congress(NLC) over post-subsidy removal palliatives for workers will resume today in Abuja.

    The meeting, at the instance of Labour and Employment  Minister   Simon Lalong,  was confirmed by NLC’s General Secretary Emma Ugboaja yesterday. 

    Its outcomes will determine whether or not the NLC will proceed with its planned indefinite strike after the expiration of its 21-day ultimatum to the government to meet its demands. The deadline ends on Thursday.

    The first meeting by the two parties in early August ended in a deadlock following   government’s failure to meet the workers’ demands.

    The demands are  “  immediate reversal of all anti-poor policies of the Federal Government, including the recent hike in PMS price, increase in public school fees, the release of the eight months withheld salaries of university teachers  and workers  as well as  the  increase in Value Added Tax (VAT.”

    Director, Press and Public Relations of the Labour and Employment Ministry, Olajide Oshundun, said in a statement, that  Lalong directed the Department of Trade Unions Services and Industrial Relations to convene today’s meeting.

    The minister, according to the statement,  stressed that it was important for the NLC to sit down with the government to resolve all the disputed issues between the two parties. This, he explained, was to guarantee industrial harmony and avert further disruption to the economy.  

    Read Also: Why Tantita’ should continue with surveillance in Niger Delta’

    Lalong said the administration of President Bola Tinubu would always “engage the organised labour and respond to its concerns after due consultation and negotiations in order to guarantee industrial harmony which was critical to the attainment of the Renewed Hope Agenda.”

    The minister had on September 4  invited the NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC)   for talks to avert a two–day warning strike which held September 5 and 6.

    The NLC shunned the meeting but TUC, which attended, backed out of the two-day strike.

    A joint  communiqué by the NLC   National President, Joe Ajaero, and   Ugboaja, said the decision of  the congress   followed the “failure of the Tinubu-led Federal Government to dialogue and engage stakeholders within the organised labour on efforts to cushion the effects of the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) popularly known as petrol on the poor masses.”

    But in backing out of the warning strike, TUC, an umbrella body of senior civil servants, said it would continue with dialogue with the government to ease the pain of petrol subsidy removal.

    “The TUC feels there is no need to embark on a strike because we are still discussing with the Federal Government on the issue of palliatives for workers,”  a TUC National Executive Committee member had told The Nation.

    He accused the NLC of taking a unilateral decision by embarking on a “premature” warning strike.

  • NURTW to NLC: stop blackmailing police for detaining Baruwa

    NURTW to NLC: stop blackmailing police for detaining Baruwa

    The National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) has said the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) should stop blackmailing the police for detaining the former president of the union, Alhaji Tajudeen Baruwa.

    It said NLC’s indolence and lack of concern at the initial stage of the problems were responsible for the lingering crisis in the union

    The Acting General Secretary, Comrade Kayode Agbeyangi, was reacting at the weekend to a statement credited to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) titled: ‘Bloodshed at NURTW National Secretariat: We urged caution but it was not heeded’. It was signed by the Deputy President, Comrade Kabir.

    In the statement, the NLC condemned the police for arresting and detaining Alhaji Baruwa, whom the police accused of culpable homicide. 

    Agbeyangi expressed disappointment with the leadership of NLC for coming out with such a statement.

    Read Also: Obasanjo was wrong, says Adeniyi

    He said the failure of leadership of the NLC to tackle the problems at the initial stage “is responsible for the persisting crisis the union is battling today.”

    “These problems started about two years ago. The aggrieved members wrote letters to the NLC to intervene, but they were ignored. Some of these aggrieved members were expelled by the Baruwa administration. Our people complained to NLC, but nothing was done. When the aggrieved members could not get the attention of the NLC, they went to court to seek justice. Members from the Southwest approached the court to determine Baruwa’s eligibility for second term. The court adjourned hearing on the matter till October with an order that all the parties in the case should maintain status quo. But Baruwa ignored the order and started organising a kangaroo delegate conference. We brought these illegalities to the attention of the NLC, but they turned deaf hear, ” Agbeyangi further said.

    He said it was regrettable that NLC was supporting Baruwa despite that his actions negated trade union standards. 

    Agbeyangi added: “I want to challenge the NLC to tell the whole world which body supervised the Baruwa so-called delegate conference? Were journalists (print and electronic) invited to cover the event? Is it proper to hold such event at night?”

    On the arrest and detention of Baruwa, he hailed the police for doing a good job. “It is unfortunate that the NLC has taken their support for Baruwa to another lever that has blindfolded their sense of justice and fairness. They succeeded in ensuring that the police vacate the union environment. Last week, Baruwa came out to inform the whole world that he would shed blood.”

  • NLC to Soludo: partner journalists for effective information management

    NLC to Soludo: partner journalists for effective information management

    Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called on Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, to collaborate with journalists for coordination and management of information in the state.

    Chairman of NLC in the state, Humphrey Nwafor, made the call at the NUJ 2023 Veterans and Patrons’ Day to celebrate and install patrons and veteran journalists.

    Among the installed patrons of the union were Cosmas Imoka, CEO of ADC Imoka Farms and Agro Allied Industries Ltd and Dr. Jane Nkolika Ezeonu, FWACP Consultant Public Health Physician and Chairman, Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Anambra State branch.

    The NLC boss said NUJ and state government’s synergy would not only facilitate development of the state, but would also enable teeming population within and outside the state to be better informed about happenings in the state.

    He pledged NLC’s willingness to contribute its quota to the growth and advancement of journalism in the state.

    “NUJ is known for its doggedness to see that society hears things as they are; it is the responsibility of journalists to guide society into becoming what it wants,” he said.

    Read Also: Communal clash: Adeleke declares curfew in two LGAs

    Earlier in his keynote address titled: ‘Nigeria Union of Journalists: The Essence and Roles of Patrons and Patroness in the Uplift of the Union,’ Head, Mass Communication Department, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Prof. Cornelius Ukwueze, said NUJ was populated by unsung heroes and heroines, who impacted society in their careers as journalists.

    Describing the patrons as influential personalities in their areas of specialisation, Ukwueze challenged them to use their influence to protect journalists from suppression, oppression and discrimination in the state.

    “Veterans journalists deserve to be celebrated because they survived all the odds and hazards of practising journalism in the country.

    “They should use their wealth of knowledge to nurture upcoming journalists for the growth and expansion of the profession. They should also use their power and influence to better the working conditions of those still active in the service,” he said.

    The State Director, National Orientation Agency (NOA), Sir Joseph Uchendu, lauded NUJ’s initiative to celebrate its elders, urging journalists to see themselves as patrons of their union before anyone else.

    NUJ President, Chris Isiguzo, represented by Zonal President, Emmanuel Ifesinachi, hailed NUJ Anambra leadership for celebrating the veterans.

    He advised members to give the union the support it needed to keep afloat at the state and national level.

    State NUJ Chairman Odogwu Emeka, who described journalists as salt of the nation and moral barometers of the society, said the event was to appreciate veterans and elders for what they contributed to the profession and society during their active days.

    He said the veterans and patrons were selected after nominations and screenings through rigorous processes.

  • FG invites NLC over planned nationwide strike

    FG invites NLC over planned nationwide strike

    The Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, has invited the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) for a meeting tomorrow over the planned indefinite strike by the congress. 

    Director, Press and Public Relations of the ministry, Olajide Oshundun said this in a statement on Sunday, September 17, in Abuja. 

    The minister, who directed the Department of Trade Unions Services and Industrial Relations to convene a meeting with the leadership of the NLC, said it was important that the union sit with the government to resolve all pending matters to avert further disruption to the economy.

    Lalong said the administration of President Bola Tinubu would always “engage the organised labour and respond to its concerns after due consultation and negotiations in order to guarantee industrial harmony which was critical to the attainment of the Renewed Hope Agenda.”

    Read Also: LP, NLC, Catholic bishops now official opposition

    It would be recalled that the minister had invited the two Labour centres for talks to avert the two – day strike held between 5th and 6th September by the NLC. 

    Only the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, showed up for the meeting while the NLC proceeded with the two – day warning strike. 

  • LP, NLC, Catholic bishops now official opposition

    LP, NLC, Catholic bishops now official opposition

    Despite having about 13 governors, 36 senators and 118 House of Representatives members in the National Assembly, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is playing second fiddle as the main opposition party after the 2023 general election. Increasingly, the Labour Party (LP), with one governor, eight senators and 35 House of Representatives members, assisted by others, is talking, acting and behaving as the official opposition. The trend will worsen in the months ahead if the PDP does not shake off its lethargy and incompetent politicking. However, the game is not yet over for the PDP. It has a far bigger and better structure than the LP, more active and experienced politicians and vote herders, and far more pugnacious governors and local government administrators. While it is indeed hard imagining the party dead anytime soon, at least not in the next four years, its morbidity has become unsettlingly obvious, particularly in the face of the aggressive and anarchic politics of the LP.

    Last April, when Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka crossed swords with LP presidential running mate Datti Baba-Ahmed over the latter’s unbridled vituperations against the judiciary, and again last Wednesday as he snorted at LP presidential candidate Peter Obi’s insistence that he won the February 25 election, many analysts accused the laureate and other commentators of been obsessed with the LP. There is, however, little to suggest any obsession. Mr Obi may speak and gesture more often and more wildly than the PDP presidential candidate in that election, Atiku Abubakar, and continues to weave many far-fetched conspiracies around his purported victory, but whatever fixations are noticeable around him have little to do with him as a person or his politics. He may appeal to a cross-section of Nigerians, some of them young and too angry to rationalise their pains and goals, but he remains essentially insular and his politics annoyingly predictable. For the perceptive, both Mr Obi and the LP have become objects of derision much more than they have become objects of fascination or obsession.

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    The reason is not far to seek. By some incredible conjunction of events and personalities, a different kind of opposition appears to be budding through a coalition of angry ethnic and sectarian diehards. It may not last, for the coalition energising that unusual opposition is incapable of enduring for long, but while it lasts it will shake the leadership rafters, upset the political applecart, and attempt to dismantle the cultural and bureaucratic ramparts upon which Nigeria rested. On its own, and regardless of the ferocity and population of the politically alienated in the country, the LP could not achieve the heights it has reached in the past one year. Mr Obi lacks the unifying and ideological depth required to vivify even his own indeterminate brand of politics. And for someone so parsimonious as to be offensive, he needed funds and a certain gregariousness to concretise and amplify his amorphous message. It is true he had been a two-term governor, an unprincipled party defector, and a one-time running mate to former vice president Atiku. But he needed much more than himself and his political peregrinations to win national recognition visible enough to upset the regnant power structure that has held the country in thrall for decades. By no special and gifted deeds of his making, and certainly not by dint of education or extraordinary grasp of the fundamentals of development, he achieved that renown through a coalition that thrust him awkwardly and apocalyptically upon Nigeria beginning from 2022. Yes, just one dizzying and incredible year.

    Mr Obi did not deliberately put that coalition together. Nor did any other arm of that coalition consciously worm its way into the group. The Book of Proverbs talks about time and chance happening to people and predisposing them to the vagaries of human existence. Something closely resembling that happenstance foisted the Obi-led coalition upon Nigeria. The All Progressives Congress (APC), which eventually won the February poll, had presented a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket to a country driven to insane rage by religious divisions. The Christians were, therefore, not going to have such insult, and were determined to put down the Muslim dervishes. They needed a champion, and they found one in the unconscionable Mr Obi who in any other circumstance could be taken for an atheist despite his fulsome show of religiosity. The Pentecostal bishops lined up behind Mr Obi, and backed him with thunderous and unremitting prophecies. The Catholic bishops also breathed undiluted anger against the APC same-faith ticket. Onward into battle they all marched with Mr Obi, unperturbed by his follies and foibles. Indeed they couldn’t care less if he were the very devil himself, or Lucifer’s lieutenant.

    But the dissembling Mr Obi and the presumptuous bishops were not sufficient to form the Axis powers against the APC. They easily found a second leg in the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), which claimed the LP as its baby. Maternal instincts, the NLC claims, not the ethnic instincts alleged against the NLC president Joe Ajaero from Abia State, explained the filial bond with Mr Obi. The coalition, however, needed one more leg to form a tripod. They found one in the Igbo ethnic group of the Southeast pained by the audacity of the Southwest to want to take the presidency soon after ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo occupied the throne for eight years and his Ogun State kinsman Yemi Osinbajo assumed the vice presidency a little later for another eight years. The Southeast would have none of that provocation. Irate and full of righteous ethnic rage and pride, they saw Mr Obi as their infallible and immutable champion. If the former Anambra State governor had remained in the PDP, they might have won the 2023 poll, but they would not have the untrammelled joy of having one of their own in Aso Villa. Had Mr Obi stayed put in the PDP, he could not of course attract as many votes as he did in the LP, not to say across many states as he managed, but the contest would have been settled before the first ballot was cast. To the Southeast, therefore, Mr Obi became a folk hero, and his native region was determined to swim or sink with him, through crocodile infested waters and through a Niagara of lies and utter fabrications.

    With that troika of support, the Obi coalition became ironclad and was ready to steamroll the enemy. They would still have achieved the same results that have today warmed the cockles of their hearts, but nature gifted them an extra brigade by adding a section of disaffected southern youths riled by incompetent policing. The EndSARS generation, indulgent, entitled, hyperactive and immoderate also saw in Mr Obi a champion, not an ethnic or religious champion, but an authentic leader forever and delectably cooing about Asian Tigers and utopias. The youths were themselves not questioning or discriminating, and the facile logic of the LP candidate could not be subjected to any validity tests, so it was easy for Mr Obi to pull wool over their faces and bamboozle them with highfalutin economic jargons and dainty phrases. With this icing on the cake, but with no substantial grounding whatsoever or coherent logic of any kind, Mr Obi took the political arena by storm and has since then waved his sorcery under the noses of his supporters, helped no doubt by a few Southwest dissenters and political titans.

    But after repeatedly coming to grief on their prophetic Golgotha, the Pentecostal bishops have seen the light and have largely and shamefacedly retreated into their cocoons, sometimes giving the Tinubu administration grudging respect, support and admiration. A few hardy bishops are still in the trenches or in the mountains calling down fire, but on the whole the Pentecostals appeared convinced that the arms of God were not shortened that they could not save last February. Had the Almighty wanted a different outcome, it would not have taken him a second to throw the Tinubu candidacy out of kilter. If the Pentecostals are chastened by inaccurate prophecies and mortified by defeat, the same is not true of the Catholic bishops, one leg of the Obi-led formidable opposition. Staid, less given to prophecy, and Catholic like Mr Obi himself, these other bishops seem determined to perish with their champion who has gone down in defeat. Dissatisfied with the results they got from opposing the APC before and immediately after the elections, they have happily joined the LP candidate in opposing the administrations’ economic, social and political policies at every whim. All they need is to sense which way Mr Obi is turning or which direction the APC is going in order to adjust their compass.

    Sadly, the Catholic Church in Nigeria is now fully a political machine, no longer an instrument for peace, righteousness and salvation. At every turn, and together with the NLC and the Southeast, they have belittled the APC, refused to acknowledge the victory of President Tinubu, and have sneered at the courts and inveighed against their juridical competence. Mr Obi could not have asked for better comrades-in-arms. For the foreseeable future, the APC will have to come to grips with the new and unorthodox opposition. They will require far more exquisite skills and technology to battle an opposition that is inconversant with logic and contemptuous of ideas, for an opposition propelled by sentiments and self-righteous zeal is not easy to persuade and is far more difficult to defeat.

  • Group urges NLC, Nigerians to be patient with Tinubu

    Group urges NLC, Nigerians to be patient with Tinubu

    A group, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Citizens Orientation Movement (PBATCOM), yesterday urged the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Nigerians to support the Federal Government’s reforms.

    The leader of the group, Adeyinka Kasim, said although the times are hard and the economy is biting hard with excruciating pains, the President means well for the country.

    He said President Bola Tinubu’s policies would bring lasting solutions to the challenges facing the country, adding that “It’s unfair and unjust to use the failure of any government in the past as a yardstick to judge this new government as a failure.”

    Kasim stressed: “Governments in the past failed and disappointed Nigerians, but we plead with Nigerians to give this new government with impeccable and intimidating track records a chance to replicate at the federal level what he and his successive government did as governors in Lagos State.

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    “Mr. President will deliver on his Renewed Hope Agenda. We have to understand that hope drives patience, tolerance, endurance and perseverance. Let’s be patient with this highly promising government. There shall be light at the end of this tunnel.

    “This movement is calling on the Nigerian Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress, Civil Society Organizations, Transport Workers Unions and the rest, to rally round Mr. President, to uphold his policies in order to better the lives of Nigerian workforce and the people because his policies are meant to reshape the country from a quagmire that the nation has tread over the years. The policies are not meant to bring hardship but succor to the future of our country.”

    Kasim said the President had displayed exemplary leadership by releasing N5 billion and other palliative materials to the state government to cushion the hard-biting effects of subsidy removal on Nigerians.

    He urged Nigerians to hold their state governors accountable for how judiciously they have managed and disbursed the money and materials to people in their states to alleviate their sufferings.

    Kasim said: “With all sense of humility and responsibility, this movement takes the position that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the best president ever in the history of Nigeria. No past president of Nigeria, dead or alive on assuming office as President and Commander in Chief had as much workload and challenges as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has on assuming office.

    “It is needful that we plead with members of the legislative chamber at all levels to look at how to cut down the cost of governance. This will  no doubt go a long, very long way in boosting the morals and hope of Nigerians towards this government as one that means well and has pity on the suffering masses.”