After achieving some tangible concessions to some of its demands, Organized Labour sheathed its sword last night, reversing its earlier announced indefinite strike action that was set to start today.
To allow the government to adhere to the conditions of the agreement struck after hours of meeting yesterday night, the labor organizations decided to halt their strike action for 30 days.
When representatives of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) returned to the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday evening to wrap up negotiations with the Federal Government, there were early indications that the planned nationwide strike would be put on hold. This was especially the case after a shift in government position on Sunday night that led to the N35,000 wage top-up across all ranks for federal workers.
Several measures were mentioned by President Tinubu in his Independence Day broadcast on Sunday to reenergize the Nigerian economy. Tinubu pledged to deploy CNG buses and expand investments in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) in order to strengthen the economy and raise citizens’ quality of living.
He said that among other things, Nigerians would receive provisional cash transfers to 15 million people, food relief packages, and a 7.5% AGO tax exemption.
However, Dr. Bitrus Pogu, National President of the Middle Belt Forum (MBF), claimed that giving workers a wage raise of N35,000 amounted to forsaking the 98% of Nigerians who live in poverty and want.
In response to President Tinubu’s Independence Day speech, Pogu claimed that it was boring and misleading.
He charged that the socioeconomic and security problems in the nation had gotten worse under the Tinubu administration.
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