THE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), on Wednesday, suspended the five-day warning strike in Kaduna, to honour the invitation of the Federal Government to a meeting in Abuja today. The union president, Ayuba Wabba, confirmed the receipt of the invitation by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, adding that the leadership of the union thereafter met and agreed to honour the invitation.
The development in Kaduna State since Monday made the Federal Government to invite both the state governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai and the labour leadership to an emergency meeting today.
Ngige sent personal letters to both Governor el-Rufai and the NLC president, Wabba, to invite them for the meeting.
Deputy Director, Press and Public Relations in the ministry, Charles Akpan, said the minister “has, therefore, invited the two parties to the trade dispute, the governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Na- sir el-Rufai and top officials of the state on one hand as well as the president of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Ayuba Wabba and top NLC leaders on the other hand, to an emergency conciliation meeting by 11.00 a.m. tomorrow, Thursday, May 20, 2021 at the office of the Minister of labour and Employment, Federal Secretariat, Abuja.”
The minister further directed the two parties to maintain the status quo ante bellum, pending the resolution of the issues in contention. Also speaking, Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, while briefing correspondents at the end of the virtual Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Wednesday, said apart from efforts by Ngige to resolve the issue, security apparatus have taken pre-emptive measures to ensure that the protest is not hijacked by hoodlums.
Mohammed said: “The Federal Government is not folding its arms and already, the Minister of Labour and Employment has waded in and is in touch with both the government of Kaduna State and also the Labour.”
