*As Tinubu promises that PH refinery will resume in December
President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, and his counterpart at the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo, on Wednesday met with President Bola. Tinubu over labour’s grievances against government’s inability to meet their demands on palliatives to cushion the hardship occasioned by petrol subsidy removal.
This meeting, which held at the State House, Abuja, was the first between Tinubu and the labour leaders, and came on the heels of the ongoing nationwide protests across the country on Wednesday.
Ajaero told State House journalists afterwards that they succeeded in securing from President Tinubu “deeper commitments” than contained in his national broadcast of last Monday.
Ajaero said the they would go back to hold further consultations with the members of their respective National Executive Councils (NEC), at their meeting which holds the following day (Thursday).
According to Ajaero, “we met with the “President on issues that led to the protest today. He expressed his position and made some commitment, which are taken side by side with what the Senate said at the National Assembly and we’re taking it back to the office with our colleagues to review it and release a document on our next line of action.
“He went deeper than what was in the broadcast, but there are one or two things that need immediate attention.”
Asked if labour unions were now ready to end the protest, Ajaero said: “No one person can call it off. That’s why I say we’ll have to go back to the office.
“So, that they will look at it also before they come up with their final resolutions. And by tomorrow, at the National Executive Council( NEC) meeting, we will look at the bigger picture.”
