TheCable

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) says there is no agreement with the federal government to suspend its indefinite nationwide protest slated for on October 3, 2023.

On Wednesday, Olajide Oshundun, the director of press for the ministry of labour and employment, was said to have announced that the NLC and the government entered an agreement to suspend the proposed strike. 

While Oshundun has denied making such a statement, Benson Upah, NLC’s head of information and public affairs, in a statement on Thursday, also refuted the report.

“We do not have any agreement with the government to suspend the planned strike action. Neither do we have any date for a meeting with government that may lead to the suspension of the proposed strike,” he said.

Upah said the NLC made it clear in their last meeting that the protest is beyond the office of the minister of labour and employment.

Commenting on the arrest and release of the executives of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), NLC condemned the ministry for describing the executives as factional leaders.

“They were lawfully elected into office. We still find it necessary to advise the police and those elements behind their travails to desist from this despicable and shameful conduct. They are advised to retrace their steps,” the statement reads.

The workers’ union thanked the ministry for securing the release of the executives but said if democracy is to be of meaning to Nigerians, then there is a need to resist the urge or temptation for impunity.