By Martin Paul, Abuja
National Executive Council (NEC) of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has approved the proposed nationwide strike starting from September 28 to compel the Federal Government reverse the recent increase in prices of fuel and electricity tariff.
NEC at the meeting held in Abuja, called on the Federal Government to urgently make refineries in the country functional adding that the timing of the increment was wrong.
President of NLC, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, warned that failure to meet the demands would compel workers to go ahead with their protest on the said date.
The NLC had on Wednesday last week, after meeting of the State Working Council, (SWC), threatened to shut down the economy if the federal government refused to reverse the recent hike before September 28.
The threat came after the Trade Union Congress (TUC), had given a seven-day ultimatum to the government to revert to the old prices of petroleum pump price and the electricity tariff.
NARTO Rescinds Planned Protest
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners, (NARTO), comprising truck and tanker owners, across the country has directed its members to resume operations.
The body said the decision was taken after Federal Government has agreed to shift the implementation of the ban on trucks with 45,000-litre capacity to January 1, 2020.
Addressing newsmen in Abuja yesterday, the National President of NARTO, Alhaji Yusuf Othman, disclosed that the decision to discontinue the withdrawal of their trucks nationwide was followed by the intervention of the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS).
NARTO had on Monday issued notice of strike to press home its grievances, which include the ban on the use of 45,000-litre capacity trucks for the lifting of petroleum products across the country.
