The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, has called a meeting with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to prevent a nationwide strike over cash crunch, fuel scarcity, and electricity tariff increase.
The NLC delegation led by President Joe Ajaero and General Secretary Emmanuel Ugboaja met with Ngige and CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele.
Ngige refuted the NLC’s allegations of inaction and claimed that the Ministry had sent the letter to the CBN Governor before he traveled.
Emefiele said he had a fruitful discussion with the NLC president, resulting in large volumes of funds made available to the deposit money banks.
The NLC no longer envisages a problem, and meetings have taken place in the spirit of good dialogue.
He said: “NLC could not have stopped CBN from taking good decisions and implementing them in the interest of the nation. If stakeholders were invited and briefed on the policy, when the people complain, NLC would explain everything to them. But in this case, the CBN did it alone. Moreover, it is a wrong time for administering such a national policy.”
He assured that the National Executive Committee of NLC will meet tomorrow Tuesday 28th of March, 2023 where members from states and Local Government Areas are expected to report on the availability of money, after which a decision will be taken on the strike.
The Minister, however, assured all that whether the NLC is embarking on the dispute of right or dispute of Interest, the dispute has been apprehended and can only result in more dialogue.
