A late-night meeting between the Federal Government and the Organised Labour on Monday night at the State House in Abuja resulted in a deadlock.
“The rally goes on and it is part of their constitutional responsibility to ensure that the rally is peaceful,” said the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, after the meeting with government representatives on the eve of the protest.
The meeting, hosted by George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, was not open to the media.
The conference was attended by the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, as well as the Ministers of Labour, Agriculture, Finance, Budget and Planning, and the Federation’s Head of Service.
The country’s two labour centres were also in attendance.
Joe Ajaero, National President of the NLC, led the group, while Festus Osifo led the delegation of the Trade Union Congress (TUC).
The federal government had asked the NLC to cancel its scheduled nationwide demonstration on February 27 and 28, 2024.
Muhammad Idris, Minister of Information, stated following Monday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting that the Federal Government has met practically all of the workers union’s demands.
The NLC stated that the Federal Government must put on its thinking cap and implement its agreement with organised labour, as well as solve Nigeria’s looming economic crisis of survival.
Nigeria is dealing with rising inflation, food inflation, a currency crisis, economic hardship, and a high cost of living as a result of the elimination of petrol subsidies, which has sparked protests in some parts of the country.
Despite the government’s subtle pressure to cancel the scheduled strike, the NLC claimed its members will not be intimidated into abandoning their anticipated statewide demonstration.