The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) denies reports to the contrary that it intends to go on strike on Friday in protest at the elimination of the petrol subsidy.
In his inaugural address on Monday, President Bola Tinubu said that the era of petrol subsidies was ended.
The President had said;
On fuel subsidy, unfortunately, the budget before I assumed office is that no provision is there for fuel subsidy. So, fuel subsidy is gone.
Following Tinubu’s comments, huge queues resurfaced at filling stations in some parts of Nigeria — a situation the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) blamed on panic buying.
A meeting between officials of the federal government and organised labour was initiated on Wednesday in an effort to establish long-term answers to the problems that the elimination of subsidies would cause for the populace.
The NLC president, Joe Ajaero, announced that the union would meet its members for additional deliberation as the conference came to a close without reaching a decision.
However, there were rumours that the NLC had set Friday as the start date for a walkout in opposition to the elimination of subsidies.
Reacting to the development, Benson Upah, NLC’s head of information and public affairs, asked Nigerians to disregard the claim.
Our attention has been drawn to stories circulating in the social media claiming that the NLC would begin protest action on June 2 against the increase in the pump price of petrol.
In as much as we are outraged by this mindless price increase which is intended to bring untold hardship to Nigerians, we have no plan to start any action on June 2.
What we do have for now are organ meetings slated for June 2 to deliberate on the price issue.
Upah said the NLC would keep Nigerians informed on its next line of action after its meetings.
