The coalition of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Civil Society Groups (LASCO), has given the federal government a two week grace to reverse the price of petroleum products and open genuine dialogue with the representatives of the Nigerian people.
This is coming on the heels of the suspension of the four day nationwide warning strike embarked upon by the coalition to force the government to revert to the old pump price of petroleum products.
Congress of Free Trade Union (CFTU) of Nigeria noted in a two page statement entitled, “The struggle continues,” signed by its general secretary, Comrade Didi Adodo, and made available to Daily Trust, that Nigerians should remain steadfast, resolute and keep faith in the struggle for a just and better Nigeria.
The CFTU is also demanding for the immediate repairs of the refineries and the construction of addit-ional refineries as well as a halt to the sale of Nigeria’s properties under the present privatisation programme.
Other demands includes a halt to the devaluation of the naira and the improvement of schools including tertiary institutions as well as prompt and full payment of pensioners and workers.
According to CFTU, the extra money realised from the sale of crude oil should be used to improve the living conditions of Nigerians.
On the palliative comm-ittee set up by the federal government, CFTU stressed that the immediate demand is the reversal of fuel price to N42.00 before negotiations would commence on other demands.
Part of the statement reads, “the CFTU calls on Chief Olusegun Obasanjo not to play God with the life, future and property of the Nigerian people and to immediately negotiate on these economic issues failure of which within the next two weeks, it will be clear that the government has no solution to the people’s problem and as such, the regime should resign.”
Meanwhile, the Jigawa State Head of Service, Alhaji Ibrahim Manzo, yesterday pleaded with the NLC to allow junior workers to render skeletal services in hosp-itals and other essential places.
The head of service who visited the hospitals and other places was disturbed that patients were left unat-tended to by doctors and nurses.
At the Dutse hospital, the HOS was disturbed at how about four women were left in a critical condition by the nurses who also participated in the strike.
At the hospital, only the chief medical officer, Dr Kabir Mohammed, was seen attending to patients at both the emergency and theatre rooms.
In his response, the NLC chairman, Comrade Jibril Mohammed Gumel, told the HOS that they did not force any worker to stay at home.
Meanwhile, private schools and NURTW workers have backed out of the strike as all private schools in the state have been operating with students attending their classes.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), yesterday suspended the four-day warning strike against the incessant hike in prices of petroleum products and gave the federal government a 14-day notice within which to ensure the immediate rev-ersal to the old pump prices of the petroleum products.
President of the NLC, Co-mrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole, who announced the suspension in Abuja, called on the federal government to deal with the issue of price stability within the 14 days period in order to avert another round of strike.
“In line with our original decision to make this strike four days and having exha-usted the four days, we have resolved to suspend the strike for two weeks. And we are hoping that within two weeks, the immediate issue of price reversal has to be resolved otherwise after two weeks, our coalition will meet and fix a date to resume the strike. And we will also decide the duration of that second phase.
“It is not that we want to threaten anybody. It is just that we cannot, in the light of our previous experience where once a strike is suspended, the government goes back and refuses to dialogue. This time around, we have decided that we must sustain the strike in phases until the issue of the immediate reversal is achieved and the long term commitment to price stability is worked out so that Nigeria can break out of this vicious cycle,” he said.
According to him, the two weeks grace given by the NLC was enough for a serious government to find solutions to the issues in contention in order to avert the proposed fresh round of strikes in two weeks time from now.
Comrade Oshiomhole said that it is a pity that the NLC and its allies had to go on strike before the federal government could set up a committee to explore aven-ues to cushion the effects of the new hike in prices of petroleum products.
The NLC president also warned employers of labour against victimising workers who participated in the four day sit-at-home protest, which he said achieved 95 percent participation.
He said that any attempt by employers to victimise workers who participated in the strike would result in another round of strikes.
Comrade Oshiomhole also told journalists that President Olusegun Obasanjo is a victim of what he referred to as “misinformation” and called on the president to re-examine his ministers, advisers and other government functionaries, whom he said, were misleading the president.
He said that government functionaries were misleading the president about the real conditions of Nigerians as well as their feelings about government’s reform programmes.
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