BAUCHI— THE Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Bauchi State Chapter has sued for continued dialogue as the only way to finding a lasting solution to the current impasse between the Federal Government and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) over the unending increase in the prices of petroleum products in the country.
Making the call in Bauchi weekend in an interview with Vanguard, the State Chairman of CAN, Rev. Iliya Chiroma advised the Federal Government and the NLC to enter into a "meaningful and genuine" dialogue to ensure that the nation is saved the agony of another nationwide strike by Nigerian workers.
Chiroma appealed to the government and the organized labour to ensure that they compromise on contentious issues, and particularly implored the Federal Government to take positive and concrete measures to cushion the effects of the "biting economic situation in the country" as well as the effect of the recent hike in the prices of petroleum products.
The CAN chairman lamented that "the frequent strike in the country is not in the best interest of the masses, just as the incessant increase in the prices of petroleum products is killing Nigerian who are already impoverished by the Government’s economic reforms. So, for peace to reign supreme in the country and avert another round of strikes, government must take concrete and visible action to cushion the devastating effects of its daily fuel increase as well as other contentious national issues bedeviling the nation."
According to him, "Nigerians are at the moment passing through very difficult times, as they are experiencing a very harsh economic conditions where poverty is biting hard while hunger and want are now the order of the day," saying that "that is the more reason why the Federal Government should immediately put in place measure to alleviate the people’s suffering."
While stressing that the NLC remained the "only organ that speaks for the masses of the country, especially now that our elected representatives seemed to be asleep," he cautioned the government to exercise restraint in the manner it handled the current issues of the oil sector.
He however appealed to labour to continue to seek peaceful means of handling the fuel crisis, saying that continued dialogue with the government was the only way out.In another development, the Minister of State for Transport, Alhaji Mohammed Musa, has said the N20 billion dredging of the Lower Niger River will commence next year. Musa told newsmen in Jos that N5 billion had already been appropriated for the project in the 2005 budget.
