JUST IN: Stock up your homes, strike imminent – NLC tells Nigerians

The Nigeria Labour Congress is advising Nigerians to prepare themselves by stocking up on essential items such as food, water, and medications that will last for at least a week.

This guidance comes as the union is getting ready to initiate a seven-day strike to protest against the removal of fuel subsidies, which has led to a significant rise in the cost of living nationwide.

To avoid the occurrence of the strike, the Federal Government will hold a meeting with representatives of organized labor on Monday. However, if an agreement cannot be reached, the strike will proceed and affect the entire country.

Chris Onyeka, the Assistant General Secretary of the NLC, emphasized that the union has no other choice but to resort to a strike in order to effectively communicate their demands.

He cautioned that the strike would lead to disruptions in transportation services, closures of markets, schools, and healthcare facilities, and urged citizens to limit their movements to avoid being stranded.

Onyeka noted that the labour team would meet with the government on Monday, adding that the outcome of the meeting would determine the next step, according to PUNCH.

He said, “Nigerians should be prepared. That’s what we are saying. Being prepared means you have to stock food in your house and be economical with your movement at this particular point in time so as to avoid being stranded. It is going to be a nationwide mass protest and we are sure that it will affect every corner of the country. We are seriously mobilizing across the nation. We are currently at work at the secretariat alongside the CSOs.

“We may not shut down the power supply system, but as the protest goes on, we may shut down other places depending on the response of the government. The (Friday) meeting didn’t hold at all. The government side was not prepared. The representatives were not available. They didn’t show any seriousness towards what they were doing. One of the things we do is hold dialogues. We don’t run away from the table anytime they call us. We are having another meeting with them on Monday.”

The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas workers, and the National Union of Electricity Employees, on Saturday, confirmed that they were mobilising their members to ground the supply of fuel and the national electricity grid from Wednesday in response to the planned mass protest called by the NLC.

The General Secretary, NUPENG, Afolabi Olawale, told PUNCH correspondent, “The congress has taken a unanimous decision and it is mandatory that every affiliate should obey the directive of the Nigeria Labour Congress.”

When probed further to confirm if NUPENG was mobilising its members to halt the lifting of petroleum products, Olawale replied, “That’s it. I’ve given you an answer.”

On their part, electricity workers stated that they would shut the national power grid as it was binding on all employees in the sector to join the mass protest.

The acting General Secretary, NUEE, Dominic Igwebuike, stated, “The NUEE is an affiliate of the NLC and I’ve told you that we will join the strike action.

“The issue is that if there’s a deadlock between labour and the government; that means that the mass protest is still going on, and definitely electricity workers, as an affiliate of the NLC, will partake in the mass protest.

“So, all workers in the power sector will join the mass protest on Wednesday, August 2, 2023. It is binding on every staff member to join the strike action. So, if it results in a blackout, the only option is for the government to listen to us if it wants power to return.

“The government should listen to the Nigerian masses who are going through serious suffering right now. That is the only thing we are asking for. So, for now, the protest is going to hold, unless there is a further directive from the NLC.”