By Omoniyi Salaudeen and Olakunle Olafioye
NIGERIA Labour Congress (NLC) has been advised to call off the ongoing nationwide strike embarked upon to protest the hike in the pump price of petroleum product to save itself from further embarrassing situation and face the reality confronting the economy.
Some eminent Nigerians who expressed their opinions on the strike said the organized labour had lost its relevance with its militancy approach rather than adopting the option of dialogue to resolve the issue, adding that the strike would worsen the already bad situation of the economy. Their reaction followed the large scale apathy that greeted the ongoing nationwide strike called by the NLC to press for the reversal of the pump price of PMS from N145 to N86.50.
The presidential candidate of the United Progressive Party (UPP), Chief Chekwas Okorie, who spoke with Sunday Sun, described the failure of the NLC to rally the support of the masses for the industrial action as embarrassing and a demonstration of ignorance about the dynamics of the economy. His words: “Right now, the NLC is in a very embarrassing situation. What they can do is to quickly call off the strike and go back to the drawing board. Trying to put up a bold face will even put them in a bigger mess. There is nothing they can achieve with what they are doing. The masses they think they are defending have actually seen that they are defending themselves.
“NLC should limit its activities to collective bargaining with regards to the welfare of the workers. On the issue of the economy, I think NLC is not well grounded enough to understand the various dynamics playing out in our present situation. They don’t know what people are really going through in the rural areas. Those of us who are not resident in Abuja or Lagos have been buying fuel for N200 per litre for several months. And I can tell you that when the price came down to N145, any filling station you walk into, you just buy and go, many people feel very relieved,” he said.
Speaking in the same vein, Joe Igbokwe, the Public Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Lagos State chapter, said NLC was living in the past, adding that the union failed to change with the current realities. “The timing of the strike was wrong. It is a matter of trust. Jonathan could not stop Buhari in 2015 because his government was corrupt. We trust President Buhari because he is principled, he has character, he has attitude, he is disciplined and he lives a life of example,” he said.
“Under Jonathan, the crude oil was selling for $120 and $150 per barrel; they couldn’t do anything with the money they realized. Today, you don’t have the money again to fund anything. Is NLC claiming ignorance of what the man has done since he assumed power almost a year ago? People they are claiming to be fighting for have left them behind. They are living in the past. They are ignorant of the exigency of the moment. They are not studying the situation; they don’t change with the situation of things. The only thing that is permanent in life is change. NLC did not change. NLC of 2012 is the same thing as NLC of 2016. Nigerians have seen enough and we trust this President. That is the difference,” Igbokwe added.
The NLC had defied an injunction by the National Industrial Court last Tuesday in Abuja restraining it and its affiliates from embarking on their planned nationwide strike over the government’s decision to hike the pump price of PMS popularly known as petrol from N86.50k to N145.
.The judge, Justice Babatunde Adejumo, had held that he was satisfied with the arguments canvassed by the Federal Government and ordered that status quo as at May 17 be maintained pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed by the Federal Government.
An NLC faction led by Ayuba Wabba, alongside TUC, and Joint Action Front, JAF, at separate meetings in Abuja and Lagos, described the restraining order by NIC as a black market injunction.
At an emergency National Executive Council, NEC, meeting in Abuja, leaders of the unions insisted that once the strike commenced on Wednesday, only the joint NEC of NLC and TUC could call it off.
The labour leaders were said to have been angered by the fact that while government was on one hand negotiating with them, its officials were on the other hand, seeking a court injunction, and vowed to make a statement with the industrial action.
However, while the strike effectively commenced on Wednesday May 18, only the Ayuba Wabba faction of the NLC continued with the agitation. TUC and the Joe Ajaero faction of the NLC had backed out. Normal activities were recorded in most states of the federation including Abuja, Lagos, Bauchi, Yobe, Kano, Adamawa, Jigawa, Kaduna, Katsina, Bayelsa, and a few other state as residents ignored the call by the union.
