In a significant development, the National Executive Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) announced the suspension of the ongoing strike on Wednesday night. The decision was attributed to the intervention of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
The suspension came after a meeting that lasted close to one hour, where various affiliates and state chapters of the unions reviewed the outcome of their discussions with Ribadu. The National Deputy Vice-President of the TUC, Tommy Etim, confirmed the suspension in an interview, citing their trust in the words of the National Security Adviser.
“The NEC of the NLC and the TUC have suspended the strike. We did this based on our trust for the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, who gave us his words,” Etim stated.
Earlier in the day, labour leaders had met with Ribadu and the Minister of Labour, Simon Lalong, at the Office of the NSA. During this meeting, the NSA had announced that individuals responsible for the alleged brutalization of NLC National President Joe Ajaero had been arrested.
The strike, initiated by the organised labour, was in protest against the reported brutalization of Ajaero and the government’s failure to implement certain agreements reached on October 2, 2023. The suspension marks a potential breakthrough in resolving the issues that led to the industrial action.
