The Presidency has responded to the ongoing indefinite nationwide strike initiated by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC).
The strike began on Monday, with numerous affiliates shutting down their workplaces in protest against the Federal Government’s refusal to raise the proposed minimum wage from N60,000.
The NLC and TUC have been negotiating with the government for a new national minimum wage following the expiration of the current wage award in April 2024. Despite the government’s offer of N60,000, the unions have demanded a higher wage of N494,000, reduced from their initial demand of N497,000.
In a social media post on Monday, President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, expressed disappointment over the strike. He suggested that many NLC and TUC affiliates are supporters of the Labour Party (LP), the third force in the 2023 general election, and accused the unions of using the strike as a political tool.
“It’s saddening that Labour could go to this extreme. But it is not surprising to the perceptive minds. Labour is harming the Nigerian people they claim to be fighting for,” Onanuga stated. He noted that the strike has prevented many sick Nigerians from accessing medical care at government hospitals, even those with critical conditions.
Onanuga further claimed that the unions are “playing politics by other means” and criticized their methods. He emphasized that the issues at hand cannot be resolved through blackmail or sabotage and called for a return to the negotiating table.
“Otherwise, the issue they claim to be fighting for cannot be resolved by blackmail or sabotage. They cannot even be resolved by the Federal Government unilaterally. The Labour leaders will still have to return to the negotiating table,” Onanuga concluded.
