Labour Walked Out from Meeting with FG for Excluding Fuel Price Hike, Electricity Tariff from agenda

The meeting between representatives of organized Labour and FG in Abuja ended in a deadlock on Sunday as Labour representatives staged a walk-out barely five minutes after it commenced.

According to the president of the Trade Union Congress, Quadri Olaleye, whereas the meeting’s top agenda were on the issues surrounding the hike in the price of fuel and electricity tariffs, palliatives was instead on the agenda.

In his opening remarks before the closed-door session, Olaleye accused FG of dishonesty, playing to the gallery and painting the organised labour in a bad light before civil servants and the public.

“The meeting agenda is not well prioritised. And because of that, we are leaving the meeting. We will not continue, we will go back to our organ, and we are going to get back to you on the next line of action.”

“This meeting is not going to be as usual” Olaleye said, “Why, because we have seen the insincerity of government and it’s putting us at risk. They are taking us for a ride, which cannot continue.

“We are in the process of discussing, for over three months now. And they made announcement increasing the fuel price again. And no other person than NNPC. When has authority been given to NNPC to increase the price of PMS? This is unacceptable.

Representing the Nigerian Labour Congress at the meeting was its deputy president, Najeem Yasin.

“We felt that the item of increase in PMS, having been listed at all as an additional item, would have satisfied everybody,” labour minister, Ngige said after the walkout.

In attendance from the federal government were the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, the Minister of State for Labour, Festus Keyamo, Minister of State for Petroleum, Timiprye Sylva, Minister of state for power, Goddy Agba and the Secretary to the Government, Boss Mustapha.