President Bola Tinubu yesterday reacting to the protest notice issued by Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) urged them to give his administration more time to attend to their demands.
Also, the presidency said the Federal Government was taking time to roll out palliatives to avoid mistakes.
Labour rejected the hike in the pump price of petrol to N617 per litre, asking the Federal Government to reverse all anti-worker policies within seven days or face a mass protest.
The NLC decided at the end of an emergency Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting on Tuesday.
But, the Ministry of Justice reminded Labour that embarking on strike would amount to contempt of court given a pending order and suit.
President Tinubu’s plea was conveyed by the House of Representatives Speaker, Tajudeen Abass, who led the leadership to a meeting with him.
The House expressed its readiness to intervene to prevent the planned protest billed to begin on 2nd August.
Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, at a briefing after a meeting between government and Labour, said talks would continue tomorrow and that the parley was productive.
Verheijen was accompanied by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Kachollom Daju.
The meeting of the Steering Committee was in continuation of earlier meetings towards cushioning the effects of petrol subsidy removal.
The Labour team included NLC President Joe Ajaero and his Trade Union Congress (TUC) counterpart, Festus Osifo.
Verheijen said: “It was a very productive meeting. The focus was on how we fast-track a lot of the interventions that will bring relief, particularly around compressed natural gas (CNG), mass transportation, cleaner energy, transportation, and reduction of the impact of the increased cost of transportation.
“We’ve made good progress. And we’re going to continue so that we can start rolling out these opportunities and this relief and measures as quickly as possible.
“We are making progress. We’re trying to address the issues that will prevent a strike. I feel like we made very good progress today and will continue to do so.”
On why it was taking time to roll out some of the palliatives, she said: “We have to get it right. We must do this well, and we keep our promises.
“So, it’s important that whatever is announced gets done because we don’t want to make big announcements that will continue to lose people’s trust.
“It’s important that we build trust, and that most of the announcements and the plans that we roll out are credible and impactful.
“President Tinubu is working assiduously to address all of these issues. And as quickly as he can, he’s very empathetic; he is concerned about it.
“As you’ve seen, all of us are working round the clock here to make sure that we can announce these measures as quickly as possible. It’s a whole package of issues that we’re rolling out as quickly as possible.”
Ajaero said there was no going back on the 2nd August protest.
He said: “We met based on the N520 increase. The committee that was set up was based on that. The two centres have made their position known.
“We are going ahead with the protest; we’re commencing protests from the 2nd.
“There is the N520 increment, which gave birth to this meeting. Nobody is discussing N617 as of now and this meeting didn’t have the competence to address that. Is that clear? There are two issues, does that make sense?”
Osifo said Labour did not agree with some of the offers made by the Steering Committee.
“The areas we did not agree on, we also made our inputs.
“So during the meeting, we gave them sufficient feedback. And they also agreed to go and look at those feedbacks and get back to us on Friday.”
Osifo added: “What we want the government to do is to address the plight of Nigerians We are meeting again on Friday.”
Abbas, who was at the Villa, said his earlier visit was to brief the President on the progress the House had made with its negotiations with the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD).
He said President Tinubu had requested more time from the medical officers, who started their strike on Wednesday (yesterday).
“In the same manner, same way, we will also invite them (Labour) to come and sit so that we hear their grievances and then we follow the same pattern of engaging and persuading them to give us a little time so that we can be able to meet their expectations,” he said
In a communique issued at the end of the CWC meeting and signed by Ajaero and General Secretary, Comrade Emmanuel Ugboaja, Labour accused the Federal Government of showing disdain and contempt for Nigerian people and workers.
It resolved “to give the Federal Government a seven-day ultimatum within which to meet all our demands and to embark on a nation-wide action beginning Wednesday the 2nd of August, 2023 to compel the government to reverse its anti-poor and anti-workers policies”.
Labour faulted the Federal Government for abandoning its committee which was a product of social dialogue.
According to the NLC, while the committee had not met, the government embarked on unilateral actions and programmes.
“That government seems to have declared a war of attrition on Nigerian workers and masses without any care leaving them in the throes of hopelessness and helplessness.
“That the Federal Government has refused to put in place safeguards to protect Nigerians from the harsh economic situation that its policies have inflicted on the people.”
But, the Federal Government cautioned the Labour against proceeding with the planned strike.
In a statement by the Federal Ministry of Justice, it argued that it would amount to a disregard of an order restraining it and a pending suit on the issue.
Solicitor General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, Mrs Beatrice Jedy-Agba, who signed the statement, asked Labour to rescind its decision and allow the court to deal with the issue to avert adverse consequences.
“It is noted that the issues (removal of fuel subsidy, hike in prices of petrol and consequential increase in the cost of living, etc.) which precipitated the above court action are the very same issues over which NLC has now issued another strike notice.
“The NLC has submitted to the jurisdiction of the court and is being represented by the reputable law firm of Femi Falana (SAN).
“It is, therefore, our minimum expectation that NLC will allow the courts perform their constitutional roles rather than resorting to self-help and undermining the orders of the court,” the statement said.
