- Objectives Of Protest Were Achieved On The First Day Of The Demonstration
- NLC Will Meet, Decide On Next Line Of Action At The End Of Ultimatum Issued To FG-Ajaero
- Labour Minister Counters Information Minister, Says FG Has Fulfilled 90% Of Agreement With Organised Labour
There is respite for the Federal Government as organized labour has suspended the 2-day nationwide protests it called to kick against the biting economic hardship experienced by Nigerians saying the objectives of the protest have been achieved on the first day.
The Matrix reports that to call government’s attention to the hardship experienced by Nigerians following the removal of fuel subsidy and floating of the naira, the NLC had on February 16, 2024 issued a notice for a two-day protest slated for February 27-28, 2024 nationwide, following the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum given to the federal government to address the issue
The NLC shunned several appeals by the FG, Department of State Security (DSS), pan-Yoruba socio-political group Afenifere amongst others to shelve the strike.
The protests kicked off all round the country on Tuesday, February 26, 2024 to considerable success with the protesters thronging the 36 states of the federation and the FCT in their large numbers bearing placards with several inscriptions like “end hunger”, “Minimum wage cannot buy bag of rice”, “end insecurity” “We say no to hardships”, “We say no to hunger”, ” We are fed up with starvation, “Let the poor breathe”; ‘Stop stealing palliatives meant for the working poor’, “, ‘We reject devaluation of Naira’, ‘No to anti-people policies, among several others.
While the protesters were bracing up for the second day of the protest, NLC in a late-night communique at the end of its National Executive Council meeting, said the objectives of the protest were achieved on the first day of the demonstration.
“In view of the overwhelming success and impact of the first day of the protest, the NEC-in-session resolved to suspend street action for the second day of the protest, having achieved the key objectives of the two-day protest on the first day” the Labour union’s President, Comrade Joe Ajaero stated.
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According to the communique, NEC will meet and decide on further lines of action if, on the expiration of the 14-day ultimatum, the government refuses to comply with the demands as contained in the ultimatum.
“However, Nationwide action continues tomorrow with simultaneous Press Conferences across all the states of the federation by the state Councils of the Congress including the National Headquarters.
“To reaffirm and extend the 7-days ultimatum by another 7 days which now expires on the 13th day of March, 2024 within which the Government is expected to implement all the earlier agreement of the 2nd day of October, 2023 and other demands presented in our letter during today’s nationwide protest.
“To meet and decide on further lines of action if on the expiration of the 14 days Government refuses to comply with the demands as contained in the ultimatum.”
Meanwhile, in a contrasting statement by the FG, Nigeria’s Labour Minister Nkiruka Onyejeocha has countered his Information counterpart on the level of compliance with the Labour’s demand.
While, the Minister of Information, Muhammad Idris, speaking at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Monday, said the Federal Government had met about 80% of all the demands put forward by the labour union, Onyejeocha put the compliance level at 90%.
“All the 15 points that were agreed upon with Labour in October last year have almost been fulfilled with over 80% compliance by the Federal Government,” Idris had said.
However, Onyejeocha while appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Tuesday thundered that the Federal Government has achieved about 90% of the agreement it had with the Organised Labour last October.
“We’ve done virtually everything in agreement. 90% of everything,” Onyejeocha said.
According to her, Ajaero told government representatives at a meeting on Sunday that the protest was not about the government’s commitment to the October agreement but food inflation.
The minister said food security and economic prosperity were part of the priorities of the President Bola Tinubu administration.
She appealed to Nigerians to be patient with the new government as the administration is in its planting season with harvest on the horizon.
Onyejeocha said the Federal Government had ticked about 90% of the 15-point memorandum of understanding it signed with the Organised Labour on October 2, 2023.
Some of the agreements include granting wage award of N35,000 to workers, inauguration of minimum wage committee, and suspension of the collection of Value Added Tax (VAT) on Diesel for six.
On the provision of high capacity CNG buses for mass transit in Nigeria, the minister said funds had been released for the purpose but “there are certain things you cannot control; you cannot control the number of days a shipment or a container will stay in the port”.
