- Youths awaiting Buhari heckle Jega’s convoy •At Emir of Kazaure’s daughter wedding
- Jos house raid: Security forces uncover bomb factory •Recover deadly weapons
- Forget presidency in 2015, AYF tells Northern govs
- Power supply: NASS’ joint committee orders suspension of badly-done projects in Rivers
- JTF smashes oil theft syndicate •Impounds 36,000 litre tanker, 26 surface tanks, 300 drums of diesel
- Sambo urges Boko Haram to dialogue with FG
- Rep, PDP leaders berate LG boss over workers’ sack
- OOU’s new Pro-Chancellor cautions on strikes, extends olive branch
- Oshiomhole condemns politics of ethnicity
- Proposed FRSC scrapping: Govt lacks sense of history —Agunloye
- .Cleric expresses concern over state of the nation
- Oyo PDP crisis: Senator Balogun carpets former SUBEB chair
Strike continues -NLC •Solution will come soon - Govt
Written by Leon Usigbe and Soji-Eze Fagbemi, Abuja Sunday, 15 January 2012
The hope of an early resolution to the ongoing impasse over the Federal Government’s removal of fuel subsidy
was dashed on Saturday night as the government and labour negotiating teams were unable to reach a compromiseat their meeting held in the State House, Federal Capital Territoty (FCT), Abuja.
But government is hopeful that a solution acceptable to Nigerians will be found soon as it pledges to continue with negotiation with labour. However, the NLC president, Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar, indicated that the threat by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) to shut down crude oil production would not materialise as he responded in the negative when the question was put to him.
The meeting broke up at about 11.15 p.m. with the president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar, telling State House correspondents that the ongoing strike would continue since no agreement had been reached.
According to him, “ we are going to continue our deliberations at our orgnaisation level and then, may be we will see the way forward.”
Answering question on whether there was a deadlock, he said “not deadlocked, but we have not reached a compromise.”
Omar revealed that labour insisted on temporary return of the pump price of petrol to N65 until “a new line of action” was agreed upon.
The Senate president, David Mark, who spoke on the government side, told reporters that there was no deadlock on the meeting, as he observed that both sides had shifted from the initial positions.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal agreed with Mark saying negotiations were painfully slow but ongoing.
The meeting, which started at about 8.00 p.m., took a break about 9:43 p.m. before reconvening for the concluding part.
It is also noteworthy that the labour team was about one hour late to the meeting which was concluded at about 11:35. p.m.
In the meeting were Senate president, David Mark; speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal; Governors Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto), Babatunde Fashola (Lagos), Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Peter Obi (Anambra), Gabriel Suswam (Benue), Adams Oshiomhonle (Edo) and Liyel Imoke (Cross River).
There were also deputy Senate president, Ike Ekweremadu; deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha; Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), Anyim Pius Anyim; Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; as well as other ministers, including Mohammed Adoke (Attorney General and Minister of Justice), Diezani Allison-Madueke (Petroleum Resources), Dr. Olusegun Aganga (Trade and Investment), Bala Mohammed (Federal Capital Territory), Emeka Wogu (Labour), Labaran Maku (Information), and Mohammed Pate (state, health).
Others present were Ndoma Egba (Senate Leader), Abdul Ningi (Deputy Senate Leader), General Patrick Azazi (National Security Adviser) and Austin Oniwon (Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation).
President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar, and his counterpart in the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Peter Esele, led 16 other labour leaders that constitute the negotiating team to the meeting.
Earlier in the day, the NLC and the TUC had risen from their emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meetings and insisted on N65 per litre, saying, “on N65 we stand.”
To this end, the NEC sent the leadership of the two labour bodies to tell President Jonathan that they had not shifted on their initial position, which they said was the position held by the majority of Nigerian people and workers.
Both labour groups held their NEC meetings at different locations in the FCT and arrived at the same position that the Federal Government ought to revert to N65 per litre first before any negotiation could take place.
The NLC meeting, which started around 1.00 p.m., was held at the Labour House, while the TUC, which began its meeting earlier, held its at Chida Hotel.
Though, the NLC did not officially announce its decision after the meeting which ended at about 5.00 p.m, but sources at the meeting told Sunday Tribune that the NEC had resolved not back down from its demand for reversal to N65.
The sources said the NEC had directed the leadership of the congress to take its message to the president.
However, the NLC Head of Information, Comrade Chris Uyot, who addressed journalist after the NEC meeting, refused to disclose details of the deliberation.
He said, “After we harmonise the positions of both organisations, we will now have on a formal position. We are going to harmonise our positions because this struggle is being carried out by the NLC and TUC. So, until we harmonise our positions, we cannot come out with a formal position.
After we harmonise our positions, we will have a meeting with the government.”
The Convener of United Action for Democracy (UAD), Mr. Jaye Gaskiya, who spoke on behalf of civil society organisations (CSOs), disclosed that the civil society’s position was that the Federal Government suspended subsidy removal pending the conclusion of negotiations and investigations into the corruption surrounding the N1.3 trillion subsidy in the 2011 Appropriation Act.
Also, the Executive Director, African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development, Mr. Otive Igbuzor, who expressed support for the shut-down of the offshore production by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), noted that the union had exercised enough restraints to carry out its threat.
Igbuzor expressed concern over the high cost of living following the commencement of the removal of fuel subsidy and noted that workers could not afford the cost of transportation and the effect of the policy on other sectors of the economy.
The NLC and TUC leadership left for Presidential Villa meeting at about 6.00 p.m.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Allinso-Madueke, has defended her role in announcing the remoal of the subsidy by the Federal Government in the first instance.
In a statement issued on Saturday and made availableto journalists, Allinson-Madueke contended that, “in regards to several articles being posted about my role in the removal of fuel subsidy, I want to say that by Nigerian law, when government decides to change petroleum prices, the only ministry that can implement the policy is the Ministry of Petroleum Resources through the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) and this is why the announcement came from the PPPRA.”
Share
Show/hide comments
Show/hide comment form
Subscribe to Sunday NewsTranslate this site
News headlines
- Youths awaiting Buhari heckle Jega’s convoy •At Emir of Kazaure’s daughter wedding
- Jos house raid: Security forces uncover bomb factory •Recover deadly weapons
- Forget presidency in 2015, AYF tells Northern govs
- Power supply: NASS’ joint committee orders suspension of badly-done projects in Rivers
- JTF smashes oil theft syndicate •Impounds 36,000 litre tanker, 26 surface tanks, 300 drums of diesel
- Sambo urges Boko Haram to dialogue with FG
- Rep, PDP leaders berate LG boss over workers’ sack
- OOU’s new Pro-Chancellor cautions on strikes, extends olive branch
- Oshiomhole condemns politics of ethnicity
- Proposed FRSC scrapping: Govt lacks sense of history —Agunloye