BREAKING! FG suspends electricity tariff hike, averts NLC strike, protests

NLC Strike suspended after meeting with FG

The strike and protests planned by organised labour – the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC and Trade Union Congress, TUC – today have been suspended.

The NLC and TUC’s decision comes after a meeting with the Federal Government.

The announcement of the NLC strike suspension was contained in a communique read by the Minister of Labour after a technical session that started late on Sunday and lasted till the early hours of Monday morning.

The hike in electricity prices will also be suspended as a committee has been set up to look into what the minister described as conflicting field reports justifying the hike in electricity tariff.

Read also, FUEL SUBSIDY: Labour’s protests and the next probable phase of the Nigerian struggle

The hike in electricity tariff will be put on hold for the two-week period within which the committee conduct its investigations and submit its report.

The committee is to be headed by Dr Ngige.

On the petrol price hike, Dr Ngige decried the stifled growth in Nigeria’s downstream sector and the dire circumstances faced by government which he claims is the justification for fuel subsidy removal.

The new price of fuel will however, remain but the government will be doing more to improve local refining capacity, rehabilitation of Nigeria’s refineries and pursue the CNG alternative aggressively by for instance providing CNG mass transit buses across the country.

NLC President Ayuba Wabba welcomed the dialogue with government and the resolutions reached.

He confirmed that the planned strike has been suspended and is looking forward to the palliatives promised by the government to Nigerians during this meeting to cushion the effect of these policies.