Less than 24 hours before Wednesday’s planned nationwide strike and mass protest by the Nigeria Labour Congress, 16 Northern-based civil society groups under the aegis of the Coalition of Arewa Civil Society Organisations have pulled out on the grounds that the indefinite strike action will damage the fragile economy and cause more hardship to ordinary citizens.
According to The Punch, the decision to pull out was contained in a statement jointly signed by the Chairman and Secretary of the Arewa Coalition, Comrade Ibraheem Suleman Dogo and Comrade Friday Luka Dalung.
According to the groups, the planned strike action was not the best way to resolve problems emerging from the current harsh economic conditions caused by the removal of fuel subsidies.
They added that the strike would cripple the country as movement would be severely curtailed, with markets, schools, and healthcare facilities forced to shut down.
“But after a critical study of the earlier statement, the NLC, in a statement signed by its National President, Joe Ajaero, accused the Tinubu government of failing to meet up with the demands it presented to it following the removal of the subsidy on petrol.
“But after a critical study of the disadvantages and overall consequences for the masses, we decided to pull out immediately and asked the labour unions and Federal Government to rather embrace dialogue on mitigating measures,” the CSOs stated.
The NLC had given the Federal Government a seven-day ultimatum with threats of a nationwide strike scheduled to commence on Wednesday, August 2, 2023, and directed all its affiliates and civil society groups across the 36 states of the federation to mobilise workers and Nigerians for a long-lasting strike should the government fail to meet its demands.
Earlier, the NLC, in a statement signed by its National President, Joe Ajaero, had accused the Tinubu government of failing to meet up with the demands it presented to it following the removal of the subsidy on petrol.
