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Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC stormed out of a meeting with the Presidential Steering Committee on Subsidy Palliatives on Friday evening.
The meeting was scheduled to be held at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja, but the Nigeria Labour Congress leaders left after accusing the government of not being prepared for the meeting.
A member of the labour delegation, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the government was using the meetings as a ploy to deceive Nigerians.
"They are not prepared for the meeting. That's the truth," the source said. "They are using cover to deceive Nigerians. There are supposed to be three subcommittees – the mass transit subcommittee, the CNG and the cash transfer – to brief us in the steering committee, but the government was not prepared for the meeting."
The source added that the meeting did not form a quorum because the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, was not present.
"There was nobody to meet with. The Chief of Staff was not there; they are taking us like children," the source said.
The labour leaders had been meeting with the government since the removal of the petrol subsidy in May. The government has been trying to convince the labour leaders to call off a planned nationwide strike on August 2.
However, the labour leaders said they will not call off the strike until the government reverses the decision to remove the subsidy.
The government has said that it will not reverse the decision to remove the subsidy.
NLC to embark on nationwide strike on August 2
The National Executive Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said it agreed on August 2 to embark on a nationwide strike and mass protests over the recent hike in the pump price of petrol.
The Federal Government had told the NLC that it was legally restrained from embarking on the planned nationwide strike.
In a communiqué, the NLC NEC members reaffirm its commitment to embark on the nationwide strike and also reached other decisions with the Central Working Committee of the NLC at a meeting held on Tuesday.
The communiqué partly read, “NEC-in-session after exhaustively deliberating and reviewing the current socioeconomic situation confronting Nigerian workers and masses, and the attendant mass suffering and deprivation across the nation as a result of the unfortunate actions and policies of the current occupiers of the seat of government arrived at the following conclusions in agreement with the Central Working Committee’s earlier deduction that the government has shown disdain and contempt for the plight of Nigerians, shunning reasonable dialogue and refusing to take active measures to protect Nigerians, instead, it resorted to robbing the people to pay the rich despite the massive outcry across the nation.
“To this end, NEC-in-session applauds, re-affirms and supports all the decisions of the Central Working Committee meeting of the 25th of July, 2023, of the 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 salary of university lecturers and workers, and increase in VAT.
“The immediate inauguration of the Presidential Steering Committee as agreed in the earlier consequential dialogues to begin the building across the nation of a coalition of all Nigerians where all will be leaders and all will be followers, to call on all civil society organisations and Nigerians wherever they may be to begin mobilisation to take action on their own to save our nation and to lead and organise mass protest rallies across the nation to demonstrate outrage against the inhuman actions and policies of the government.”
President and General Secretary of the NLC, Joe Ajaero and Emma Ugboaja.
The NEC agreed “to give the Federal Government a seven-day ultimatum within which to meet all our demands and to embark on a nationwide action beginning from Wednesday, the 2nd of August, 2023, to compel the government to reverse its anti-poor and anti-workers policies."
President and General Secretary of the NLC, Joe Ajaero and Emma Ugboaja.
The government has not yet responded to the NLC's decision.
