Strike: Sultan Urges Labour To Shelve Action

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, has urged the organised labour in Nigeria to halt its strike action warning that the strike if prolonged may subject the nation to another bouts of hardship.

The Sultan, who is also the President General of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, emphasised that they should continue negotiating with the government in the interest of the nation.

The monarch made the call in a Monday statement from his media team.

In the statement, he urged labour leaders to consider the negative impact of the strike on the well-being of Nigerians.

READ: FG Summons Meeting With Labour Over Minimum Wage, Strike

He also asked them to cancel the industrial action for the sake of those they aim to protect.

The monarch emphasised that organised labour should never tire of negotiating with the government, urging them to avoid subjecting the nation to further hardship.

“The labour leaders should consider the overbearing effects of the strike action they plan to embark upon on the wellbeing of the same Nigerians, whose interests they are fighting to protect, and therefore shelve the industrial action.

“We appeal to labour not to take the nation through another leg of hardship because that exactly is what will happen if they make good on their plan to go on this strike.

“They should try to listen to the government while the government should listen to them, and both parties should arrive at a conclusion that will be beneficial to all Nigerians, including the working class,” the Sultan pleaded.

The Muslim leader acknowledged that labour leaders are advocating for better welfare for their fellow workers and noted his own past involvement in such negotiations between organized labour and the government.

However, he urged them to conduct these efforts in a way that avoids plunging the nation into further hardship and difficult situations.

“You are doing what is right for your class of fellow workers, but you should do it within the ambit of compassion and see strikes always as the last option,” it added.