President Bola Tinubu has appealed to the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) to give him more time to look into their grievances, rather than proceeding with the planned nationwide strike.
Recall that NLC had given the government a seven-day ultimatum to address the latest increase in fuel prices, or risk a nationwide strike that would commence on August 2, 2023
NLC spokesperson, Mr Ben Upah had disclosed the warning strike on Wednesday.
In a statement by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, said that President Tinubu is asking for more time to evaluate the issues raised by workers, as he is new in office and has not yet been fully briefed on the situation. He is asking for patience and understanding while he works to address the workers’ concerns.
Abbas disclosed this while speaking with journalist after leading the House leadership to brief the President on the outcome of their engagement with the National Association of Resident Doctors, NARD, which has declared a nationwide strike action.
He said “What he said is that he’s just coming on board. We should ask them and beg them to please give him a little more time.
“The things that they mentioned, he is completely unaware of them; he is yet to be briefed about all those issues.
“But from what he heard from me, he also advised that we should channel those issues to the Chief of Staff to look at one after the other.
“I believe in the coming days, some concerted actions will be taken.”
He explained that the House leadership invited NARD following their intention to go on strike, saying that the lawmakers succeeded in persuading the union to shelve the plan.