Metro

Nigerian labour unions suspend strike, order workers to resume immediately

Published

3 weeks ago

November 16, 2023

The organised labour in Nigeria on Wednesday night suspended its nationwide indefinite strike that commenced on Tuesday over an assault on the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, after a marathon meeting with representatives of the federal government.

The national executive councils of the NLC and its sister union, the Trade Union Congress (TUC), in a statement calling off the strike, also directed workers to immediately resume work on Thursday morning following the suspension of the strike.

The unions said the suspension of the strike followed the intervention of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, who pleaded with the unions to consider the plight of ordinary Nigerians who were the ones bearing the brunt of the nationwide lockdown.

Ribadu had also assured the labour unions that the some of the suspects who attacked Ajaero had been arrested and would be made to face the full weight of the law.

The National Deputy President of the TUC, Tommy Etim, who announced the suspension of the strike, explained that it was based on the trust the unions had in Ribadu.

“The NECs of the NLC and the TUC have suspended the strike. We did this based on our trust in the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, who gave us his word. We also saw that he wasn’t playing politics with our demands and he was ready and promised to follow up with everything,” Etim said.

However, Etim said the suspension of the strike was temporary as the unions would not hesitate to declare another strike if the government failed to fulfill its part of the bargain.

“It is a temporary suspension. We are going to give them some time after which we will meet and if they fail to meet up, the strike resumes.

“We listened to the NSA and he listened to us. He noted that Ajaero didn’t do anything wrong by going to Imo State. We must commend the NSA and it is because of him that there is a suspension of the strike”, he said.

In another joint statement issued by the General Secretary of the NLC, Emmanuel Ugboaja, and his TUC counterpart, Nuhu Toro, the labour unions said they found the offers put on the table by the NSA credible enough to warrant the calling off of the strike.

“The NEC in session had a thorough review of the offers presented by the Federal Government through the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu. We found the offers credible and decided to reconsider our action,” the statement said.

“After the meeting, we directed all affiliates and State councils of both the NLC and TUC to demobilise, cease any further escalation of the indefinite strike action. We fully resume work tomorrow, Thursday, the 16th day of November, 2023.

“The suspension is intended to facilitate further discussions after the federal government had met crucial demands. We expect government to address the distressing abduction and brutalisation of the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero, and others,” the statement added.

Related Topics:Featured Nigeria NLC TUC Strike

Click to comment

Metro

Zambian govt rejects ‘light’ sentence of PF chieftain, Kambwili, appeals for two-year term

Published

8 hours ago

December 8, 2023

Akanimoh Etim

The Zambian Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Gilbert Phiri, has rejected what he described as the light prison sentence of five months given to a stalwart of the Patriotic Front (PF), Chishimba Kambwili.

Kambwili, a former Foreign Affairs Minister, was last week convicted by a Kasama Resident Magistrate, Samson Mumba, after he was found guilty of hate speech against the Tonga people of Southern Province, and committed to the Milima Prison in Kasama District.

While delivering the judgement, Mumba said Kambwili was guilty of the offence of expressing hatred and ridicule for persons because of tribe and place of origin.

The former Minister of Information and Publicity was said to have issued anti-Tonga tribal remarks during the 2021 elections when he featured on a live radio programme.

He was later suspended for a month by the Electoral Commission of Zambia ( ECZ) over the said remarks.

But Phiri has rejected the five months jail term and is insisting that the offence should have carried a maximum of two years sentence.

The DPP, which filed an appeal at the Lusaka High Court, raised two grounds in the notice, arguing that Mumba had “erred in law when he sentenced the convict to a term of five months imprisonment with hard labour for the offence of hate speech which carries maximum sentence of two years.”

Phiri also argued that the trial “erred in law when it misapplied the principals of sentencing in relation to the gravity and nature of the offence committed.”

Metro

Tinubu talks tough, vows punishment for anyone culpable in deadly bombing of civilians

Published

11 hours ago

December 8, 2023

Akanimoh Etim

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria has vowed that any individual found culpable in the bombing of Tudun Biri village in Kaduna State, North-West Nigeria, where over 120 civilians were killed last Sunday, will not go unpunished.

Tinubu, who made the vow on Thursday, also assured that all the injured victims would be well taken care of by the government under the Folako Initiative which would commence later this month, while the affected communities would be rebuilt under the new intiative.

Tinubu, who was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, embarked on a visit alongside a high-powered government delegation to wounded victims at Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital, Kaduna. He explained that the government would do everything possible to ensure that such an unfortunate incident dod not occur again.

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu sent us to commensurate with the people of Kaduna over the tragic incident,” Shettima said.

“The calibre of people that are here with me is a testimony on how deeply touched the president was by the incident.

“The President was deeply touched by what happened. We will like to assure the people and government of Kaduna State that the government will take measures to protect and preserve the interest of our nation.

“The victims will be well taken care of under the Fulako Initiative which will commence by this month and this community will be the first to be rebuilt in north west zone.

“All measures will be taken to ensure that future occurrence is averted. Government will get to the root of the issue and anyone found culpable will be punished accordingly,” Shettima added.