Chris Ngige, the minister of labor and employment, and Godwin Emefiele, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), met with the NLC leadership on Monday in an effort to prevent a national strike by the NLC.
The NLC leadership had given the Federal Government a seven-day deadline to solve the nation’s naira shortage. If the matter was not resolved by the deadline, NLC President Joe Ajaero has threatened to call a strike by the Congress.
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Ngige then requested a meeting on Monday with the NLC and the executive of the apex bank to discuss the issue.
This was disclosed in a statement by the Director of Press and Public Relations, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Olajide Oshundun.
The statement read;
The ten-man delegation of the NLC was led by the President, Comrade Joe Ajaero and the General Secretary, Emmanuel Ugboaja while the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele was accompanied by two Deputy Governors, Kingsley Obiora (Economic Policy) and Ade Shonubi (Organised Private Sector).
In his remarks, the minister refuted the allegation of the NLC that his ministry did nothing about the matter.
He said on receiving the letter from NLC, he forwarded the same to the CBN governor before travelling out of the country for an International Labour Organisation (ILO) Governing Board meeting and directed the Permanent Secretary and Trade Union Services and Industrial Relations Department to follow up.
What Emefiele Said
Emefiele claimed that after receiving the letter from the Labour Ministry, he called the NLC President to inform him of the actions taken to lessen the suffering of the masses. He also made an appointment with the NLC President and had a discussion with him, which he claimed was fruitful.
He said that the deposit money banks received a sizable amount of money and were instructed to open their branches on Saturdays and Sundays. The CBN strictly oversaw their compliance.
Emefiele further explained that Nigerians have been enjoying their money as a result of the actions done.
Ajaero’s Statement
Earlier, Ajaero said they only got a reply to their second letter to the ministry and subsequently, an invitation to the meeting.
He said they no longer envisage any problem, since CBN has started sending cash to the banks and Nigerians were now accessing their money, he acknowledged that meetings has taking place in the spirit of good dialogue.
He, however, urged the CBN to improve on their services, regretting the information gap created in the implementation of the Naira Redesign.
Ajaero 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 (NEC) of NLC will meet tomorrow Tuesday 28th of March, 2023 where members from states and Local Government Areas are expected to report on availability of money, after which a decision will be taken on the strike.
