The highly anticipated meeting between the Federal Government and the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) regarding the removal of fuel subsidies concluded without reaching a consensus.
The meeting, which commenced at 4 pm on Wednesday, aimed to address the concerns raised by the organized labour following President Bola Tinubu’s announcement of the imminent cessation of petrol subsidy by the end of June.
Prominent figures from the Federal Government attending the meeting included Dele Alake and Mele Kyari, the Group CEO of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited. Also present were Godwin Emefiele, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and former Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole.
The Nigerian Labour Congress was represented by Joe Ajaero, the NLC National President, and Festus Osifo, the President of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC). The NLC, after several hours of negotiations with the government representatives, demanded a return to the previous fuel price as a precondition for further discussions.
Dele Alake, a member of the government’s team, spoke briefly after the meeting and acknowledged the engagement between the two parties.
However, he refrained from providing specific details about the discussions. Alake emphasized the commitment of both sides to the peace, progress, and stability of Nigeria, adding that the talks would continue at a later date in the near future.
“We have been deliberating on finding very amicable resolutions to the issue at hand —to the queues and all of that and the increase in pump price,” Alake said.
“We had a very robust engagement. We cross-fertilised ideas, ideas flew from all sides and there is one thing that is remarkable even from the labour side — and that is Nigeria. We are all looking at the peace, progress and stability of Nigeria. That is what is paramount.
“Of course, the NNPCL GCEO, Mr Kyari, is here, we cannot go into details now because the talks are still ongoing.
“We cannot finish everything in one setting, so we have adjourned now, we are continuing the talks at a later date very shortly. But the point is that the talks are ongoing and it’s always better for all sides to keep talking with a view to arriving at a very amicable resolution that will be in the longer-term interest of all Nigerians. That is as much as we can say now.”
Contrarily, Joe Ajaero, the NLC president, along with Festus Osifo, his counterpart in the TUC, announced that no consensus had been reached during the meeting.
They stated that further discussions would take place after consulting with their respective members. The date for the reconvening of the meeting has not been determined yet.
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