NLC Factions Differ On Strike Today
POSTED: MAY 18, 2016 AT
7:39 AM / /
Labour union factions last night differed on the strike called
by Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union
Congress (TUC) to protest the hike in price of petrol today.
While NLC faction led by Ayuba Wabba insists on the strike,
the Joe Ajaero faction opted out of the strike.
As at the time of going to press, the Wabba faction was still
in a meeting with the Federal Government.
Meanwhile, the National Industrial Court (NIC) has
restrained the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade
Union Congress (TUC) from going ahead with their planned
strike.
But the Wabba faction, before the meeting with the
government on Tuesday, had insisted on the strike, vowing
to disobey the court should the government not agree to its
submission.
They are staging a general strike in protest of Federal
Government increasing petrol price by up to 67 percent from
N86.50 per litre to N145.
Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union
Congress (TUC) arrived at the decision to go ahead with the
strike at the end of their National Executive Council (NEC)
meetings.
A top source of NLC, who confided in Independent , said they
were not aware of any court injunction restraining them
from proceeding with the planned strike.
The source also said even if they were duly served a court
order, they had no option than to disregard it, since the
Federal Government was in the habit of disregarding court
orders.
He alleged that Minister of Power, Works and Housing,
Babatunde Fashola, had consistently defied court orders
restraining him from arbitrarily increasing electricity tariff,
hence they (labour) will also not obey any court order.
A truce meeting between the Federal Government and key
players in labour unions that would have averted the strike
ended on a stalemate 12:30a.m on Monday night and
continued on Tuesday without result.
The National Industrial Court (NIC) sitting in Abuja had on
Tuesday stopped the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and
the Trade Union Congress (TUC) from embarking on the
proposed strike today.
The labour unions had in a communiqué issued at the end of
an emergency meeting held on Saturday vowed to embark
on a nationwide industrial action should the Federal
Government refuse to reverse the sudden hike in the price of
fuel.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu,
recently announced an increase in the price of fuel from
N86.50 to N145 per litre, a development that has since
elicited divergent reactions from Nigerians.
However, in a ruling on Tuesday, the NIC President, Justice
Babatunde Adejumo, restrained the labour unions from going
on strike, pending the determination of a suit the Federal
Government lodged before it.
Justice Adejumo further ordered all the parties to maintain
the status quo until the legal dispute is settled.
The order followed an ex-parte application that was filed by
the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of
Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN).
Relying on Section 14 of the 1999 constitution, as amended,
the Federal Government insisted that it would not be “in the
national interest” for the NLC and TUC to proceed on
nationwide strike over the fuel price increase.
Malami argued that no amount of damages could serve as
compensation if the labour unions were allowed to shut
down the economy.
But at Monday’s meeting, the Federal Government had
exploited the cracks within the labour circle to plead for the
strike to be shelved.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF),
Engr Babachir Lawal, had invited both factional leaders of
the NLC, Ayuba Wabba, and Joe Ajaero to separate
meetings that lasted several hours but produced no result.
The SGF used the opportunity to explain to the unions that
the constraints of meeting regular subsidy payments that
run into trillions of naira necessitated government’s decision
to deregulate the industry.
Wabba and his team, comprising the General Secretary,
Peter Ozo-Eson and his TUC counterpart, Bobboi Bala
Kaigama, had stylishly excused themselves from the meeting
to consult with their NEC members, which is the highest
decision-making organ of both unions.
Meanwhile, while NLC NEC held at the Labour House,
located at Central Business District (CBD), Ajaero, who
doubles as General Secretary of National Union of Electricity
Employees (NUEE) was a guest at the Department of State
Service (DSS) allegedly on the strike issue.
Although he (Ajaero) was not detained by the DSS, he
subsequently proceeded with his team to attend the
Monday’s adjourned meeting with the Federal Government.
Elsewhere, at a book launch event in Abuja, Vice President
Yemi Osinbajo said if there was one person in Nigeria that
believes that petroleum prices should not go up by one
naira, it is President Muhammadu Buhari.
Explaining the difficult decision announced last week by the
Federal Government, Osinbajo said the president simply had
no other option.
Although the president did not want the fuel price to go up,
the vice president said “he was left with no choice. What
can we do if we don’t have foreign currency, we have to
import fuel.”
The truce meeting which should have averted the strike had
in attendance Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole;
Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma
Udo Udoma; Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe
Kachikwu; Nigeria Labour Congress President, Ayuba Wabba,
factional President of NLC, Joe Ajaero; President of National
Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG),
Igwe Achese; President of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior
Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Olabode
Johnson.
Others are Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator
Chris Ngige; Minister of Information and Culture, Lai
Muhammed; Minister of Solid Minerals, Kayode Fayemi;
Trade Union Congress (TUC) President, Bobboi Bala
Kiagama; NLC General Secretary, Peter Ozo-Eson; Ag
General Secretary of Trade Union Congress, Simeso
Amachree, among others.
POSTED: MAY 18, 2016 AT
7:39 AM / /
Labour union factions last night differed on the strike called
by Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union
Congress (TUC) to protest the hike in price of petrol today.
While NLC faction led by Ayuba Wabba insists on the strike,
the Joe Ajaero faction opted out of the strike.
As at the time of going to press, the Wabba faction was still
in a meeting with the Federal Government.
Meanwhile, the National Industrial Court (NIC) has
restrained the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade
Union Congress (TUC) from going ahead with their planned
strike.
But the Wabba faction, before the meeting with the
government on Tuesday, had insisted on the strike, vowing
to disobey the court should the government not agree to its
submission.
They are staging a general strike in protest of Federal
Government increasing petrol price by up to 67 percent from
N86.50 per litre to N145.
Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union
Congress (TUC) arrived at the decision to go ahead with the
strike at the end of their National Executive Council (NEC)
meetings.
A top source of NLC, who confided in Independent , said they
were not aware of any court injunction restraining them
from proceeding with the planned strike.
The source also said even if they were duly served a court
order, they had no option than to disregard it, since the
Federal Government was in the habit of disregarding court
orders.
He alleged that Minister of Power, Works and Housing,
Babatunde Fashola, had consistently defied court orders
restraining him from arbitrarily increasing electricity tariff,
hence they (labour) will also not obey any court order.
A truce meeting between the Federal Government and key
players in labour unions that would have averted the strike
ended on a stalemate 12:30a.m on Monday night and
continued on Tuesday without result.
The National Industrial Court (NIC) sitting in Abuja had on
Tuesday stopped the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and
the Trade Union Congress (TUC) from embarking on the
proposed strike today.
The labour unions had in a communiqué issued at the end of
an emergency meeting held on Saturday vowed to embark
on a nationwide industrial action should the Federal
Government refuse to reverse the sudden hike in the price of
fuel.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu,
recently announced an increase in the price of fuel from
N86.50 to N145 per litre, a development that has since
elicited divergent reactions from Nigerians.
However, in a ruling on Tuesday, the NIC President, Justice
Babatunde Adejumo, restrained the labour unions from going
on strike, pending the determination of a suit the Federal
Government lodged before it.
Justice Adejumo further ordered all the parties to maintain
the status quo until the legal dispute is settled.
The order followed an ex-parte application that was filed by
the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of
Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN).
Relying on Section 14 of the 1999 constitution, as amended,
the Federal Government insisted that it would not be “in the
national interest” for the NLC and TUC to proceed on
nationwide strike over the fuel price increase.
Malami argued that no amount of damages could serve as
compensation if the labour unions were allowed to shut
down the economy.
But at Monday’s meeting, the Federal Government had
exploited the cracks within the labour circle to plead for the
strike to be shelved.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF),
Engr Babachir Lawal, had invited both factional leaders of
the NLC, Ayuba Wabba, and Joe Ajaero to separate
meetings that lasted several hours but produced no result.
The SGF used the opportunity to explain to the unions that
the constraints of meeting regular subsidy payments that
run into trillions of naira necessitated government’s decision
to deregulate the industry.
Wabba and his team, comprising the General Secretary,
Peter Ozo-Eson and his TUC counterpart, Bobboi Bala
Kaigama, had stylishly excused themselves from the meeting
to consult with their NEC members, which is the highest
decision-making organ of both unions.
Meanwhile, while NLC NEC held at the Labour House,
located at Central Business District (CBD), Ajaero, who
doubles as General Secretary of National Union of Electricity
Employees (NUEE) was a guest at the Department of State
Service (DSS) allegedly on the strike issue.
Although he (Ajaero) was not detained by the DSS, he
subsequently proceeded with his team to attend the
Monday’s adjourned meeting with the Federal Government.
Elsewhere, at a book launch event in Abuja, Vice President
Yemi Osinbajo said if there was one person in Nigeria that
believes that petroleum prices should not go up by one
naira, it is President Muhammadu Buhari.
Explaining the difficult decision announced last week by the
Federal Government, Osinbajo said the president simply had
no other option.
Although the president did not want the fuel price to go up,
the vice president said “he was left with no choice. What
can we do if we don’t have foreign currency, we have to
import fuel.”
The truce meeting which should have averted the strike had
in attendance Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole;
Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma
Udo Udoma; Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe
Kachikwu; Nigeria Labour Congress President, Ayuba Wabba,
factional President of NLC, Joe Ajaero; President of National
Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG),
Igwe Achese; President of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior
Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Olabode
Johnson.
Others are Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator
Chris Ngige; Minister of Information and Culture, Lai
Muhammed; Minister of Solid Minerals, Kayode Fayemi;
Trade Union Congress (TUC) President, Bobboi Bala
Kiagama; NLC General Secretary, Peter Ozo-Eson; Ag
General Secretary of Trade Union Congress, Simeso
Amachree, among others.
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