* Chikelu says nothing to celebrate in strike
Stories from KABIRU YUSUF, Abuja
AS the four-day warning sit-at-home strike
action called upon by the NLC ends today, the federal government has
suffered another setback in its bid to stop the labour union from
challenging increase in fuel price by the Obasanjo administration.
Government�s defeat in the court room followed
a judgment delivered by the Abuja Federal High Court striking out the case
before it for which government had wanted to use to stop the industrial
action.
In its motion before the court, the federal
government had alleged that if allowed to go ahead with the strike it would
contravene an earlier court order barring the NLC from carrying out the
strike action.
The government had therefore prayed the court
to stop the congress from embarking on the strike and enforce the earlier
court judgement on the matter.
In her ruling, Mrs. Roseline Ukeje struck out
the two prayers of the federal government, saying: �I am washing my hands
off the case.��
It could be recalled that few weeks ago the
federal government had sued NLC for what it called labour�s effort to call a
strike action which it said had contradicted some sections of the nation�s
constitution.
Meanwhile, the federal government has said that
there is nothing to celebrate in the current labour strike as all Nigerians
are losers.
�There is no success. The only success is for
those who want Nigeria to retrogress. Everybody is a loser. The government,
the NLC, the Nigerian people. There is nothing to celebrate�.
Minister of Information and National
Orientation, Chief Chekwuemaka Chikelu and his labour counterpart, Dr.
Hassan Muhammad Lawal who revealed this to State House press corps shortly
after the Federal Executive Council meeting yesterday, explained that the
strike action has failed.
Chief Chikelu further said that there is
nothing like success when people do not go to work, children don�t go to
schools, banks and financial institutions do not open, when an economy is
dropped and dragged down, people are suffering and prevented from earning a
living nobody is a winner, he stressed.
According to him, Nigerians should understand
that there is no winner in a situation where the country is going down,
adding that there is no point trying to analyse who has succeeded or who has
won.
On why government recognised Adams Oshiomhole
as the NLC leader while the Senate had already passed the Labour Bill, the
labour minister, Dr. Hassan Muhammad Lawal explained that the passing of the
bill by Senate does not make the NLC invalid.
He further said, people need to know that there
are two chambers in the National Assembly and unless and until there is a
concurrence on the part of the two legislative houses, that issue cannot be
said to have removed Adams Oshiomhole from office.
�The fact that the federal government invited
Adams Oshiomhole, you must understand that Adams, by any standard, is
qualified to be in that group. He is a Nigerian and a notable Nigerian for
that matter,� he added.
Dr. Lawal also said that Oshiomhole has made
tremendous amount of contributions to the socio-economic development of
Nigeria adding: �Adams Oshiomhole has a lot to offer, so I don�t see any
reason why we should raise any eyebrows.�
The minister who described the NLC president as partner in
progress, however, said the labour leader is a stakeholder in the Nigerian
project who has all along been making meaningful contributions to the
nation�s development, assuring that government will continue to invite him
for contributions even beyond his tenure as NLC president.
