Subsidy: NLC Scorns FG Meeting, Electricity Workers Back Strike

Afimag.com –

The Nigeria Labour Congress on June 04, 2023, scorned a meeting by the Federal Government to talk about the subsidy removal and hike in fuel pump prices across the country.

The union believed that talk with federal government representatives would not make impact on Nigerians unless a legitimate team was set up.

The union also faulted the Trade Union Congress officials for attending the meeting which was a follow-up to the talks held with the NLC at the Presidential Villa.

On its part, the electricity workers vowed to join the strike and plunge the nation into a blackout in protest against the removal of fuel subsidy by the Bola Tinubu administration.

Confirming, the National Treasurer of the NLC, Hakeem Ambali, confirmed the decision of the union to boycott the meeting which was a follow-up to the Wednesday meeting on the removal of subsidy.

During the meeting attended by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, Managing Director, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited, Mele Kyari, Dele Alake, and others, the NLC had insisted on the reversal of the fuel pump price pegged at between N488 and N540.

Labour who insisted that the federal government should not remove the subsidy without putting the nation’s refineries at work, urged FG to hand the refineries over to the state governments.

Failure to arrive at compromise, NLC resolved at its NEC meeting on June 02, 2023, to embark on a nationwide strike.

Speaking on why the NLC boycott of the session, the National President of the congress, Joe Ajaero, argued that the meeting was of no significance to the union.