Following Protests Over Petrol Subsidy Removal, Tinubu Meets With Labour Leaders

President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday evening met in his office at the State House, Abuja,with leaders of the organised labour centre over the protests embarked upon by the labour unions over the fuel subsidy removed by the present administration.

This will be the first time the President will be meeting with the labour leaders since he set up the Presidential Steering Committee on Palliatives in June, this year.

The Chief of Staff to the President, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, had on five occasions in the last two months led the government team to discuss with Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress (TUC) at the Conference room of his office at the State House, Abuja.

Commenting on Wednesday’s meeting with President Tinubu, NLC President, Joe Ajaero, told newsmen that the meeting discussed the protest which began nationwide on Wednesday with the Presudent making some commitments to the labour unions. 

Ajaero who was in the company of his TUC counterpart, Festus Osifo, revealed that the president addressed the issues already presented in his national broadcast but delved into more details.

According to him, labour has decided to take back to their members, the issues the president presented at the meeting. 

His words: “We met with him. The issues we discussed are the same issues that led to the protest today.

“He has expressed his position, made some commitments, which were taken side-by-side with what the Senate said, and we’re taking it back to the office with our colleagues to review it and release a document on our next line of action”.

Asked if what was presented was different from the content of the presidential broadcast on Monday evening, the NLC President said: “We have gone deeper into them. The broadcast has broader issues, but there are one or two things that need immediate attention.”

He emphasised that the protest will not be called off until the leadership of labour confers with its National Executive Council (NEC).

“No one person can call it off. That’s why I say we’ll have to go back to the office. So that they will look at it, the EXCO looks at it before they come up. And by tomorrow, the NLC will equally have their NEC meeting, to look at the bigger picture,” Ajaero said.

Asked further if the president requested them to call off the protest, the NLC boss declared: “the President is a pro-democracy activist. So, he understands protests.”

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

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