The joint National Executive Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has suspended the indefinite nationwide strike which entered its second day on Wednesday.
The decision was reached at a meeting on Wednesday that deliberated on the outcome of an earlier interface with the Federal Government led by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu.
According to Channels Television, the TUC President, Festus Osifo, confirmed the suspension on Wednesday evening.
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Organised labour said it has received a commitment from the Ribadu-led meeting that those arrested for the physical assault on NLC President, Joe Ajaero, would be prosecuted.
The NSA promised to bring both parties back to the table to iron out all issues in dispute, tendering an unreserved apology on behalf of the Federal Government for the brutalisation of Ajaero and other members of the congress.
The meeting which was held at the office of the NLSA with the TUC President, Festus Osifo; the NLC General Secretary, Emmanuel Ugboaja; the Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, among others, in attendance.
At the end of the meeting which was held behind closed doors, both the labour minister and the TUC President said they had a robust conversation on the issues at stake.
The strike came on the heels of the physical assault Ajaero was subjected to in Imo State two weeks ago when he and other NLC members were in the South-East state for a demonstration over “non-payment of salaries and pensions for 44 months and violation of other labour rights”.
The protest was viewed in some circles as an attempt to scuttle the re-election bid of Governor Hope Uzodinma in last Saturday’s governorship election.
Following Ajaero’s ordeal, the organised labour called for a nationwide strike beginning today.
However, the National Industrial Court (NIC) restrained them from embarking on the strike action in the wake of the impasse with the Imo State Government.
Last Tuesday, the leadership of the NLC and the TUC declared a total nationwide strike effective one week later (yesterday).
The leadership of the two unions reached the resolution after an extraordinary National Executive Council meeting in Abuja.
The two major labour unions said nationwide mobilisation of members and allies had begun immediately, following Ajaero’s brutalisation the previous week in Imo State.
The incident led to widespread outrage among organised labour, which accused the Commissioner of Police in Imo State, Mohammed Barde, of complicity.
Labour proceeded to hand the Federal Government a five-day ultimatum to replace the police commissioner, while also laying blame at the feet of Governor Hope Uzodinma, who was seeking re-election.
The governor however said he had no hand in the attack on the labour leader.
But the unions demanded the arrest and prosecution of some of the governor’s aides and threatened to embark on a nationwide industrial action if their demands were not carried out.
The NLC and TUC began their indefinite nationwide strike on Tuesday with affiliate unions joining the industrial action.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday morning, the NLC shared circulars by the unions, indicating their compliance with the directive.
The unions included the National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees (NUBIFIE), the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria, and the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Polytechnics (SSANIP).
Others are the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), the National Union of Food Beverage and Tobacco Employees, the Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MWUN), the National Union of Electricity Employees, and the Nigeria Union of Railway Workers.
The strike continued into Wednesday, prompting appeals and interventions by the National Security Adviser, who met with the labour leader in Abuja, and the Senate, among other individuals and organisations.
Oshiomhole carpets Organised Labour
Senator Adams Oshiomhole of Edo North spoke out on Wednesday against a protest by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Imo State two weeks ago, led by its president, Joe Ajaero, which kicked off a series of events that culminated in an ongoing nationwide strike by organised labour.
The former NLC president, who appeared on Channels Television’s Politics Today, called Ajaero’s supposed involvement in the election of the NLC chairman in the south-eastern state, in the lead-up to last Saturday’s highly anticipated governorship election.
Ajaero was arrested on November 1, in the middle of a protest and strike action by the NLC in the state and released hours later with visible bruises, prompting allegations of torture against the Imo State Police Command.
Oshiomhole noted that as a result, the NLC president banned flights out of the state.
“He ordered… no transport out of Imo [and that] Imo must be grounded. And not a few people wondered about the timing,” the senator said.
“If you don’t want the governor, the more reason you should allow the people to go and vote — and vote him out — if your opinion is shared by a majority of the people. But you cannot arrest democracy.”
Oshimohole pointed out that the incumbent NLC president is from Imo State “and this is the second time they are having a showdown with the governor — and the issues are never really clear.”
According to him, the first instance was over a dispute about the workers’ preference in the election of the chairman of the NLC in Imo State Council.
