Contrary to reports in certain quarters, the organised labour is yet to agree to a particular figure with the Federal Government on the cost of fuel, Saturday Tribune can authoritatively reveal. A meeting between labour leaders with President Goodluck Jonathan and his team on Thursday night, in Abuja, ended in a deadlock.

Consequently, labour and the civil societies have vowed that the nationwide strike, began last Monday, would  become more intense from next Monday.

The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has directed doctors to completely close down all health facilities in the country so as to make the strike total.

Already, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has also concluded plans to shut down oil and gas production with effect from midnight today.

Our correspondent gathered that the government did not even suggest any figure during the meeting the president held with labour over its demand that government reverted the pump price of fuel to N65 per litre.

The leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Friday in Abuja,  vehemently denied that the parties had agreed on N100 per litre.

NLC president, Comrade Abdulwahed Omar, and his Trade Union Congress (TUC) counterpart, Comrade Peter Esele, directed Nigerians to discontenance such reports, but to observe a break this weekend and resume the general strike and mass rally fully from Monday.

A Deputy President of the NLC, Comrade Kiri Mohammed, who is also the President of the Nigeria Civil Service Union (NCSU), told our correspondent that the government did not propose any amount before the labour leaders as the intended pump price it had in mind.

He stated that the government merely introduced the issue and told labour to consider price reduction rather than total reversal,  while pleading with labour to consider the security and economic implications of its demand.

“But, we told them that the National Executive Council (NEC) of our congresses gave us a mandate. We cannot go beyond that mandate. On N65 we stand! We must all go back to the status quo, and then discussion and negotiation will follow.

“We cannot afford to disappoint Nigerians, we cannot afford to fail Nigerians. Nigerians, both at home and abroad, are looking up to labour. We cannot afford to back out at this time,” he emphasised.

The stalemate reportedly necessitated the adjournment of the meeting, with the president to today in the Presidential Villa for another parley, while NLC and TUC have also called their NEC meeting for 1 p.m today.

Findings, however, indicated that the possibility of calling off the strike after today’s meeting with the government was slim except the government, in the first instance, reverted to N65 before negotiation commences.

Both Omar and Esele, while addressing a crowd at the Berger Junction, Abuja on Friday, also strongly debunked claims that labour had agreed to a marginal increase in the pump price of fuel.

Omar said, “There is a lot of rumours going round that labour has compromised, but I ask this question, is it possible to collect somebody’s food and still come out and insult his policies? Our mandate is N65 or nothing, and on that we stand! At the meeting, despite all their pleas that the economy will collapse, we said we had a mandate and it is the mandate of all Nigerians.

“There are text messages everywhere trying to cause confusion and divide our ranks, but I tell you that all of them are blatant lies. Do not let anybody deceive you. As far as we are concerned, it is not about money; if it was, by now, we would have been extremely rich.”

Omar, however, accused the government of trying to destabilise the hugely successful protests and industrial action that had grounded government and economic activities in Abuja and other states of the country since Monday.

Omar said: “Government agents are trying to destabilise this protest, but we know our people and we will continue to be peaceful; government will hire people at the rate of N5,000 per head to stage a protest in support of the removal but all of them will disappear as soon as they receive their pay. But none of you here was paid to come, nobody pays you to come here everyday but you are here because you are patriotic.”

Also speaking, Comrade Esele urged Nigerians to remain streadfast, united and ensure nobody used “cheap blackmail and propaganda” to dampen their call for the restoration of fuel subsidy.

A joint statement signed by NLC Acting General Secretary, Comrade Owei Lakemfa and TUC Secretary General, Comrade John Kolawole, also gave a significant insight into what Nigerians should expect.

The statement said: “The NLC, TUC and their allies in the civil society movement on Thursday, January 12, 2012 met with the Senate leadership, the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) and the executive arm of government.

“At the meeting,  labour asked the presidency to suspend the new petrol price announced on January 1, 2012.  In return, we offered to suspend forthwith, the strikes, mass rallies and street protests. We also suggested that an expanded committee be set up which would discuss the fuel subsidy issue and pricing for petrol.

“The government side presented a counter-proposal asking labour to negotiate new fuel prices. Since we had no such mandate, labour declined and decided to return to its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting which will be held on Saturday 14th January, 2012 for a possible expanded mandate.

“Labour commends the National Assembly for its intervention and further urges the presidency to be more reconciliatory towards the people and show more understanding and sensitivity to their feelings and collective interests.”

On the rally, the statement commended “Nigerians for turning out in their millions” to protest the astronomical increase in the price of PMS.

“The labour movement and its civil society allies, after nationwide consultations has decided that this weekend, Saturday 14th and Sunday  15th January, 2012, will be observed as strike, protest and rally-free days. We ask Nigerians to utilize these days to rest, restock and get re-energized for the continuation of the strikes, rallies and protests from Monday 16th January, 2012.”

In its own statement, entitled, “On-going strike action, PENGASSAN said it remained committed to the  “popular and nationwide protests and will continue to work with every concerned Nigerian group to sustain the struggle until government respects the sovereign will of the Nigerian people.”

Comments (3)

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Strike in Nigeria
written by Jesse Ajoku, January 14, 2012

My concerned is this after strike what next>? if government goes back to statusquo and the price remain 65 naira per litre labour should not forget that the same problem happened during Obasanjo govt and scarcity of petrol will continue and Nigeria will be paying 200 per liter. Labour should try to cooperate with govt and solve this problem once and for all lots of problems effecting Nigerians not only fuel subsidy that will be shouting every year after all labour is not established to fight subsidy only there are so many out there.

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OMAR FACE-TO-FACE WITH THE PRESIDENT
written by Oliver Conlet, January 14, 2012

The legal code that made the labor leaders the commanders of the Nigerian society has to be scrapped.
When we say 'labor unions' we are not in effect referring to the entirety of the Nigerian workers. Rather the phrase only stops at the few members at the national executive level and this may be a paltry number of only about 10 individuals. And these can easily be bought over with only a few million naira. The role of these little individuals now has made 'nonsense' of the entire government cum all the designated decision making bodies of Nigeria. The whole electoral processes that brought in the political leaders in this nation have been nullified by the position of these unrefined decision making incompetent individuals. This is entirely humiliating for an advanced nation, such as this, in this era of better enlightenment.
The entire members of the labor union put together are not competent enough to hold such a professional veto power in such an important national issue. The leadership of the labor unions does not at all represent the Nigerian people as much as the federal executive council, the houses of assembly, the traditional rulers and the like do.
A person ought not to have great deciding power where he does not hold the responsibility for the outcome of decisions made.
Omar is now holding the head of state of this nation in a face-to-face shoulder-to-shoulder challenge of power. This is an insult to the entire individuals of all classes of this nation. All of us are now swept under his foot. Is this what we did all the electoral processes (under the sun) for? All the laws that gave him this power in this nation should be annulled.

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NLC Originating more hurt to People
written by Oguizu, January 14, 2012

Labour are you not originating more hurt to the people? Where have Labour been in the past years Nigeria had been in scarcity of fuel while some ethnical region kept fuel that will take them 50years or more after division (‘One Nigeria’ ‘different mind' ‘different dream’ ‘different focus’ ‘different vision’ ‘different mission’). Labour are you there while refineries in Nigeria are malfunctioning. Labour so you are there while our Oils are been taken to other countries to refine while our lands are large enough to contain refineries. Labour so you have been in existence while lots of labourers are jobless looking for how to earn their living. Labour how many company have you initiated for the labourers to work? Labour so you are real while some state and federal government leaders banked Nigerian money in foreign lands for their own use while lots of Nigerians are jobless, No good road, No enough food, the poor keep being oppressed no assistant, No work for the youths the old aged men keep bribing to retain job while the youths seeks for job, No good water, No vibrant and buoyant economy. Labour you are there while lots of labourers struggle to take one square meal while one person earns millions in the government without any good result in the lands the labourers are stakeholder. Labour where have you been all the years fuel price has never been controlled in Nigeria. There are lots of things to protest in Nigeria that will reflect to removal of fuel subsidy. Labour, Nigeria has good resources to create jobs for the labourers to work and the people of the land to gain good living, but where is the creativity in your leadership?, lots of Nigerians are slaves in other countries and even in their own land because the resources are not in good supervision. Removal of fuel subsidy mostly affected the easterners that travelled for Xmas and New Year break while the fuel is been sucked from the mother land of the easterners, the same easterners are been asked to evacuate from the north. ‘One Nigeria’ ‘different mind' ‘different dream’ ‘different focus’ ‘different vision’ ‘different mission’. Labour so you are there while almost everything in Nigeria are been import (Foods, Drinks, Wears, stationary, Furniture, Automotive etc)

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