Organised Labour Leaders in Nigeria walked out on the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige and other Federal Government’s representatives during a meeting at the Presidential Villa on Sunday night over the recent fuel price hike.
NewsWireNGR gathered that at the meeting, Trade Union Congress President Quadri Olaleye said many labour leaders were absent at the meeting because they were afraid of being attacked by the masses again.
While speaking with reporters after the botched meeting, NLC secretary; Emmanuel Ugboaja, said the government was being insincere.
He said: “We’ve had several meetings about increment and electricity tariffs. We’ve had some understanding overtime; but while these meetings were still ongoing, we were suddenly slammed with a new increase in petroleum prices and we felt that was beyond what we had as an understanding with the government.
“And we felt that should be the first item for understanding today, but surprisingly the government team felt otherwise. They felt the issue of imaginary palliatives should be discussed before what is causing the need for the palliatives, and we felt that was putting the cart before the horse.
“We want to address the issue of petroleum pricing before we begin to think of whether there is need for a palliative or not. On that strength, we felt we couldn’t continue with a meeting whose agenda was wrongly prioritised.
“When the government is willing to take it the way it is, we’re ever ready to serve our country to engage and to have things properly determined.”
On the next line of action, he said: “we have to go back to our organ and agree on the way-forward because we have leadership, we are known and clearly with that position, we have to tell our members what the situation is.”
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