By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has declared a nationwide strike from Wednesday, June 7.
This comes amid a hike in the price of fuel across the country by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited after President Bola Tinubu’s announced an end to the petrol subsidy during his inaugural speech on Monday.
NLC President, Mr Joe Ajaero, announced the industrial action on Friday after an emergency meeting of the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) in Abuja.
He said the government, particularly the NNPC, had up until next Wednesday to revert to the old price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise referred to as petrol.
Mr Ajaero added that the failure of the federal government to meet the ultimatum would attract an indefinite protest across the country.
On Monday, during his inaugural address at the Eagle Square in Abuja, Mr Tinubu said the era of subsidy payment on fuel has ended.
He said that with the 2023 budget signed by his predecessor, Mr Muhammadu Buhari, no provision for fuel subsidy, and further payment was no longer justifiable.
“The fuel subsidy is gone,” Mr Tinubu said, adding that his government would instead channel funds into infrastructure and other areas to strengthen the economy.
Two days later, on Wednesday, a long meeting between the federal government and the NLC on the matter yielded no consensus.
The federal government representatives included Dele Alake, the spokesperson for President Bola Tinubu; the Group CEO of the NNPC, Mr Mele Kyari; Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele; and former Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole.
On the organised labour’s side, the NLC National President, Joe Ajaero; and the President of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Mr Festus Osifo, were present.
The NLC demanded that the federal government return to status quo before resuming negotiations with labour.
Mr Ajaero insisted that the federal government did not enter into any conversation even on palliative measures for Nigerians, hence the rejection of the latest announcement.
