Meanwhile, the NLC locked the government offices in Enugu, Ebonyi, Anambra, Abuja, Oyo States as the strike commenced on Tuesday.
The Nigeria Labour Congres (NLC) has commenced the two-day nationwide warning strike against the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government’s failure to address the effects of fuel subsidy removal and devaluation of naira.
Meanwhile, the NLC locked the government offices in Enugu, Ebonyi, Anambra, Abuja, Oyo States as the strike commenced on Tuesday.
SaharaReporters reported on Friday, that President of NLC, Comrade Joe Ajaero, announced a two-day nationwide warning strike to protest against the government failure to address the economic crunch facing the country as a result of fuel subsidy removal.
Briefing journalists at the Labour House in Abuja, Ajaero, who said the decision was reached by the union’s national executive committee (NEC), during its meeting on Thursday, accused the federal government of abandoning negotiations.
NLC also said the government has failed to implement some of the resolutions reached at previous meetings.
SaharaReporters had reported that President Bola Tinubu on inaugural speech on May 29 declared that “fuel subsidy is gone," a statement that immediately triggered instantaneous pump price increase of over 300 % within 24 hours.
The increment also triggered a rise in cost of living.
Since then, federal government has been negotiating with the Labour Unions on how to address and cushion the effects of the removal and attendant consequences.
Following the inability of the government to adequately, address the situation, the organised labour on August 2, 2023 protested nationwide against what they described as the anti-people policies of the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and their affiliate unions demonstrated in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and several states, including Lagos, Abia, Plateau, Kaduna, Kano, Rivers, Zamfara, Katsina, Cross River, Ebonyi, Enugu, Kwara, Ogun, Imo, Ondo, and Edo.
The protest followed a seven-day ultimatum issued to the Federal Government demanding “the immediate reversal of all anti-poor policies of the federal government including the recent hike in PMS (Premium Motor Spirit) price, increase in public school fees, the release of the eight months withheld salary of university lecturers and workers”.
The union also demanded an upward review of the minimum wage from N30,000 to N200,000, saying that since the President’s “subsidy is gone” inauguration speech of May 29, 2023, the peace of mind of Nigerians has gone.
Several meetings between the Presidency and the unions on palliatives for Nigerians suffering hardship in the wake of the petrol subsidy removal proved abortive.
Last month, NLC president Joe Ajaero argued that the N5 billion approved for each state and the FCT to cushion the impact of fuel subsidy removal was inadequate to impact on the people.
Stating this while featuring on Channels TV programme on August 18, 2023, the NLC President explained that if the N5 billion should be divided with Nigeria's population, it would not amount to N1,500 per person.
He stated that it was still unclear whether the money was a loan or a palliative to the states or to Nigerians.