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Following the plan by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to commence a nationwide industrial strike action from Tuesday, a Civil Society Organisation (CSO) has described the move as ‘sabotage’ and ‘mischievous’.
The CSO under the auspices of the Civil Society and Workers Dialogue Forum, (CSWDF) made this known in a statement issued by Abubakar Ibrahim, Bashir Faisal and Comrade Rafiu Shaibu, who are Convener and co-Conveners of the CSO respectively.
According to the statement, the Nigeria Labour Congress fully agreed to the withdrawal of fuel subsidy which they also earlier advocated for, adding that “having the subsidy that has been draining government for centuries removed, it should be supported by all stakeholders”, rather than ‘evil kick’ as it were.
The CSO described the action as ‘sabotage’ and ‘mischievous’, stressing that the union was not sensitive to its own part of dialogue with the Federal Government over the fuel subsidy removal impasse.
The group, while acknowledging the hardship faced by Nigerians, explained that the Federal Government has made deft moves in rehabilitating the refineries to reduce the cost of PMS and gas importation.
The statement added that the recent distribution of palliative to the tune of N5 billion to each 36 States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory are part of mitigation measures until things normalize as no government anywhere in the world derives pleasure in the suffering of its people.
The group wondered what the proposed strike intended to achieve since the wage increase of workers is being negotiated with NLC constituting membership of the Committee.
“The wage increase of workers is being negotiated with NLC constituting membership of the Committee, hence we are appalled at what the proposed strike intended to achieve.
“As opposed to the past, the NLC has always been on the negotiation table before any decision was taken by this administration.
“We recalled that in June this year, the Union was in talks with the FG over fuel subsidy removàl without carrying other stakeholders along which we protested our exclusion.
“Having agreed with President Bola Tinubu’s administration, only for the workers Union to recant and proposed an indefinite strike is counter-productive and we will mobilise our members across the 36 States and FCT for anti-NLC protest.
“This statement should serve as official notice to the Director of State Service DSS, IGP and other Security agencies, that we are going to mobilise to streets against NLC on 3rd October, 2023,” the statement reads.
The group stated that some states have purchased buses for public transportation and have also added funds to the FG’s offer to them, insisting that the proposed strike was inappropriate.
The statement therefore called on the citizens to resist the temptation of being used by a group of people against the genuine interest of government.