A communiqué published after the Congress' National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja yesterday that the Federal Ministry of Justice immediately drop suspected litigious terrorism by Friday, August 11.
In a letter signed by NLC President Joe Ajaero and General Secretary Emmanuel Ugboaja, the union threatened a national general strike if the government summoned labor leaders to court through the National Industrial Court of Nigeria.
The Federal Ministry of Justice, through the NICN, has continued to truncate democracy and quiet employees, it claimed. The union was called to plead contempt of court charges on Wednesday, the day it began its statewide demonstration.
The NEC-in-Session also endorsed and affirmed the decision to postpone fuel subsidy removal demonstrations while vowing to hold the government accountable for its palliative expenditure promises.
After considering the mood of the nation in light of the suffering and deprivation of citizens across the country, it reviewed the effectiveness of the mass protest, which it had ordered during the last session of the Council, especially the meetings with President Tinubu and National Assembly leadership, and committed to the terminal date of August 19, 2023, when petroleum price hike issues would be addressed.
The national leadership and state officers were praised for coordinating the demonstration, but affiliates and state councils, including civil society supporters, were exhorted to keep focused and watchful.
Festus Osifo, TUC president, said the government has pledged to address Labour issues within a week, so they are giving them the benefit of the doubt. This was revealed in an Arise News interview yesterday after NLC and TUC halted protests.
As I indicated before, we met with the President, and before that, the National Assembly intervened with an appeal and a guarantee that many things would be put in place with great results within a week.
We had that chat earlier before we met with President Tinubu, and he committed to stating that yes, we should work with their team and present something for the wage award, and he is willing to deliver it almost shortly. This is in addition to the Port Harcourt refinery disclosure and the Friday CNG statement. “We returned to our secretariat and had some conversations. We gave them a chance because they kept saying, "We are a new government, we promise, and when we promise, we must act," Osifo said.
Osifo said: “As unions, we don't just sit down and define this line of actions because we have organs, so this information that the President has given us, we are going to call out our meetings and we will do the reviews. After those reviews, we will wait and watch, trusting that the two label centres will convene to push the government to act.
Yesterday, Ibadan labor lawyer and activist Femi Aborisade stated the President Tinubu-labour leaders meeting was fruitless. Aborisade told The Guardian: “Nothing fruitful in meeting Mr. President. The key demand is ignored.” However, he praised the labor movement for starting the strike, which can be renewed later.
However, in compliance with the President's directive and to provide cheaper alternative fuel to motorists, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPCL) Limited announced a strategic partnership with NIPCO Gas Limited to deploy CNG stations nationwide yesterday.
This unprecedented agreement will increase CNG infrastructure, enhance access to CNG, and expedite the adoption of cheaper and cleaner alternative fuel for buses, automobiles, and Keke NAPEP, lowering transportation costs and boosting national economic growth.
Under the NNPC-NIPCO strategic partnership, 35 modern CNG stations will be built nationally, including three mother stations. Once fully operational, the stations can service over 200,000 vehicles daily, lowering Nigerians' fuel and transportation costs.
The project will be phased. The first phase of 21 CNG stations will support intra-city transportation and be ready by the first quarter of 2024. The second phase of 35 stations will support inter-city transformation and be ready by late 2024. This will be supplemented by 56 NNPC Retail stations nationwide.
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NIPCO Gas Limited operates 14 CNG stations in Nigeria and has converted over 7,000 vehicles to CNG. NIPCO's technical expertise and field experience will boost this initiative's success and boost the economy.
Meanwhile, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) urges Nigerians to support President Tinubu and let him fix the country. The organization also applauded the President for proactively aborting the gasoline subsidy removal protest.
Stephen Adegbite, Chairman, Lagos State chapter of CAN and Methodist Bishop of Ikeja Diocese, advised NLC and TUC to use fuel subsidy funds wisely and responsibly during a press conference in Abuja yesterday.
He called the fuel subsidy “a misadventure profiting the rich and politically connected,” and it exacerbated when regional neighbors and smugglers profited at the expense of the public.
He praised Tinubu's call to Labour leaders for secret talks, which led to a truce and ended the statewide demonstration. The President's behavior showed he is a listening leader who wants to get things done for the nation.
The apex body of all Yoruba indigenous people, Yoruba Council Worldwide (YWC), has urged NLC and other labour unions to engage governors and heads of various government parastatals to find a solution to the current economic hardship caused by fuel subsidy removal. The group's president, Aare Oladotun Hassan, said organized labour should talk to governors instead of just the federal government.
“There are different areas to negotiate,” he remarked. They only see one end of the negotiations. The 36 governors should work with the labour unions to find answers to the issues' multiple layers. gasoline subsidy elimination is constant; gasoline price and dollar rate hikes are independent issues.”
Pensioners in the Southwest geopolitical zone want governors to pay N40,000. After yesterday's Southwest zone Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) conference in Ibadan, the pensioners demanded. The gathering included Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Ondo, Lagos, and Ogun union executives.
At the end of the meeting, NUP Public Relations Officer for the zone Olusegun Abatan told reporters that pensioners' predicament had not changed in years.
According to Abatan, some retirees in the zone receive N350 monthly pension, which the governors seem fine with. He called it immoral and reprehensible that numerous zone states did not pay pensioners' gratuities between 2012 and 2014.
Governors' wages have increased, but some still calculate in life pensions for themselves after four to eight years without considering pensioners' lives and gratuities. Our NUP Southwest zone meeting agreed we will not accept anything less than N40,000 minimum pension.
“It is disheartening to tell you that while workers have minimum wage, there is no minimum pension,” Abatan remarked. He claimed the petrol subsidy reduction has hurt Nigerians, especially pensioners. The NUP public relations officer claimed low pensions made it harder for seniors to pay for medical care and other requirements.
