NLC Strike Begins: Protests In Major Nigerian Cities

Workers in many states on Wednesday shunned a directive by the Ayuba Wabba faction of the NLC for them to embark on an indefinite strike due to the increase in the pump price of petrol from N86.50 to N145.

But labour and civil society organisations still held rallies in few states to press home their demand that the Federal Government should reverse the price hike.

There were protests in Lagos, Abuja, Osun, Benin and Kwara among other states.

Talks between the government and organised labour collapsed on Tuesday night as representatives of the NLC walked out of a meeting with a Federal Government’s delegation, led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Babachir Lawal.

President of a faction of NLC, Ayuba Wabba, had given the go ahead for the strike to begin on Wednesday after the parties in the negotiation failed to reach an amicable settlement.

But the Joe Ajaero-led NLC faction and the Trade Union Congress, led by Mr. Bobboi Kaigama, had distanced themselves from the strike while NUPENG and PENGASSAN also ignored the strike.

The Ajaero faction had earlier in the afternoon on Tuesday attended a separate meeting with the government and indicated that it would not participate in the strike, but negotiate further with government.

In the Federal Capital Territory on Wednesday, civil servants turned up for work at the different ministries, departments and agencies.

The Federal Secretariat was a beehive of activities, contrary to the directive of the Wabba-led NLC.

At the ministries of finance, budget and national planning as well as that of industry, trade and investment, workers reported for work.

Apart from civil servants, banks and other offices were opened for business as early as 8am.

An official in the ministry of finance, who spoke to Punch PUNCH said, “You know that there has been this division among the labour unions as to what the direction of the industrial action would take.

‘‘Apart from this, there was a court order stopping the strike; so, no one was fully sure of what to do. As a result of this division, we don’t know what to do and since it is the government that gave me job and not the NLC, I have to obey the directive to report to duty because we now have a government that does not tolerate nonsense.”