NLC Issues Guidelines on Fuel Strike
Oshiomhole on mobilisation campaign to Lagos
By Chris Nwachuku in Lagos and Chuks Okocha in Abuja
The Nigeria Labour Con-gress (NLC) yesterday issued mobilisation guidelines to 36 state chapters and Abuja in a move to step up campaign for the strike in protest against the new fuel price regime announced last month by the Federal Government. The strike is expected to commence on October 11.
THISDAY gathered last night that the leadership of the state councils have been ordered to firm up a coalition committee with the civil society organisations in each of the states. The committee, according to NLC sources, should take over the planning and co-ordination of the mobilisation.
The committee is also expected to ensure compliance with the directives of the national committee of the labour and civil society coalition whose acting leader is Dr Beko Ransome-Kuti.
Other responsibility assigned to the committee include the convocation of stakeholders meeting before the end of this week to work out modalities for the enforcement of the sit-at-home protest.
The national secretariat had also requested the chairman and secretary of each of the 36 states and Abuja to forward to it details of the stakeholders meeting within 48 hours.
"The active participation of the state is very important. The national secretariat is keenly monitoring the development. The guideline is expected to check their excesses and ensure full participation in the decision of national executive council. The leadership has also decided to scrutinise the decisions reached at such meetings, and possibly assist them to cover the loophole where necessary," the source said.
Also, the state councils are directed to meet with transport workers, market men and women, leadership of other trade union centres, and other allies of NLC including the students to harmonise their plans. Most students in university campuses had embarked on mass protest over the new price regime for petroleum products.
On how to ensure effective mobilisation, state councils are advised to structure their territories into zones with different co-ordinators handling the various zones. The co-ordinators are to be briefed on their responsibilities and made answerable to the council chairman.
The councils were warned not to back out of the planned action or engage in any activity contrary to the action of the national leadership. States with difficulties are told to contact the NLC president, Adams Oshiomhole, or acting general secretary, Salihu Lukman.
The assistant general secretary in charge of organisation in Lagos office, Denja Yaqub told THISDAY last night that the states have been fully mobilised for the mass protest. He added that all mobilisation facilities including fliers, banners and other logistics will get to the state councils soon.
Although he was not specific on the details of the guideline issued to states, Yaqub said as in the past, there exists an action plan for mass exercise of this nature, and that some states have already been following it judiciously.
"There is an appropriate guideline for mobilisation, I am aware that majority of the states have followed it up and are making tremendous progress. The national secretariat is monitoring the development," he said.
He confirmed that Oshiomhole will lead the mobilisation campaign for Lagos State tomorrow. Already, the acting labour-civil society coalition chairman, Ransome-Kuti in a letter stated that mobilisation exercise which will include a symposium has been planned to sensitise people on the need to fight the policies of the Obasanjo administration.
"As part of the activities towards mobilisation of Nigerian people against the Obasanjo anti-peoples policies in general and recent fuel hike in particular, a symposium entitled Obasanjo anti-peoples policies: Time to fight back is being organised," said Ransome-Kuti.
NLC last week resolved to embark on nationwide sit-at-home to protest the new price regime for fuel, which was increased from N43.90 to between N53 to N57.
Meanwhile, Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) will today meet in Abuja to take a position on whether or not to participate in the strike action called by the NLC to protest the recent increase in the prices of petroleum products.
In a telephone interview with THISDAY, General Secretary of CNPP, Maxi Okwu, said today's meeting would have two agenda that would include the way forward on burning national issues, which include the recent increase in the price of petroleum products.
"The meeting, which will be attended by the chairmen of the affiliate political parties, will take a position whether to participate in the strike action being called by the NLC," he said.
He explained that the meeting is necessary to enable Nigerians know the position of the political parties and their leaders.
"After all, Nigeria belongs to all of us and not to the PDP alone. We must have a say in what is happening in this country, before it is too late," the CNPP scribe stated.
According to Okwu, "what is happening in the country will spell doom if care is not taken. It will lead to a spiral inflation and high cost of living. Nigeria is a mono-commodity nation; any increase in the price of fuel will generally affect the cost of living. Government has increased the price of fuel without making room on how to caution the effects on the people."
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