BY VICTOR BUORO, ABUJA – Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, who is the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum met with the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) on Saturday in Abuja as part of measures aimed at averting a nationwide industrial action by the organized labour.
This was as the President of NLC, Comrade Ayuba Wabba said that the Federal Government violated the time-tested global process of dialogue in price increases with taking the people into consideration, adding that the welfare of the people is the primary purpose of governance.
Fayemi assured at the meeting that the executive of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum would meet with President Muhammadu Buhari on the issue.
These were contained in a ‘Final Communiqué,’ issued by the Head, Media and Public Affairs of the NGF, Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo, saying that the Forum and the Nigeria Labour Congress are on the path to resolving the impasse occasioned by the threat by workers to embark on industrial action if the Federal Government does not rescind the increase the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit and electricity tariff in the country.
The statement states; “The NGF chairman said no one who was conversant with the prevailing situation in the country would disagree with labour and its demands, as it were, but he pleaded that governors be given time to consult more broadly with the various stakeholders, including the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha, the Vice-President and the President. This he said would be top priority for the NGF and promised to head straight to the presidency once the meeting was over”.
Bello-Barkindo said that the NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, who was accompanied by the TUC President, Quadri Olaleye, and the NLC General Secretary, Emmanuel Ugboajah, spoke on behalf of organised labour. The Director General of the NGF, Mr Asishana Okauru, was also at the meeting.
He further said that Fayemi said that governors decided to wade into the ongoing negotiations with a view to broadening consultations and assisting to bring the impasse to an end, thus averting the impending strike action.
Fayemi therefore pleaded with the labour movements that the timing of the action could aggravate an already worsening situation if not averted, saying that the issues were not irreconcilable.
The NGF chairman noted that the plight of workers in the country was already unbearable adding that any action embarked upon by the union at this time would worsen their situation.
The NLC President, Comrade Wabba noted that when the cost of PMS rises, the cost of everything in the country rises with it and praised Faymi for showing a good grasp of the matter.
In the words of Wabba: “I believe that if they (Federal Government) had widened the mechanism for consultation and involved people like you, we wouldn’t have come to this path”.
However, the NGF chairman said that President Buhari, who is always on the side of workers will not be averse to the issues being raised and expressed the hope for an amicable settlement on the issues highlighted.
