NLC Threatens Indefinite Strike, Gives One Week Ultimatum To FG

• Kazeem Badmus

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has threatened to begin an indefinite strike should the Federal Government fail to meet its demands at the end of a 21-day ultimatum which will expire in one week.

OSUN DEFENDER reports that the NLC had a two-day nationwide warning strike last week Tuesday and Wednesday.

NLC noted that the industrial action may start any day from next week, adding that it would lead to an indefinite shutdown of commercial and economic activities across the country.

National Assistant General Secretary of the NLC, Mr Christopher Onyeka, while speaking with a journalist on Tuesday, maintained that the FG was wrong to share a bag of rice to a dozen citizens while reportedly giving N100m palliative to each member of the National Assembly.

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The labour union in a letter to the FG, said, “If the government fails to provide the appropriate responses to our demands, we encourage you to maintain your steadfast resolve. The same passion and determination that fuelled this warning strike will be crucial if we find ourselves compelled to embark on an indefinite nationwide strike.”

Onyeka insisted that the FG had absconded from the negotiation table, noting that it had also failed to meet the workers’ demands.

The union leader hinted that the strike would not notify the government before carrying out any action it deems fit.

The Labour leader said, “We sent the letter to the Federal Government on September 1, 2023, so by September 22, 2023, the 21-day ultimatum will end.

“We have made it clear that the Federal Government has abandoned and absconded from the table for negotiation; that government is no longer negotiating with Nigerians and there is no good faith negotiation that is going on.’’

“President Bola Tinubu promised Nigerians on his own on the television with the President of NLC, Joe Ajaero, that he was going to restructure the committees, but he did not do that, and since then the committees have not met and there has been no negotiation that is on-going. As it is, NLC is not negotiating with the government.”