The Federal Government has praised the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) for suspending its five-day-old strike.
The
Ayuba Wabba-led NLC had embarked on a nationwide strike on May 18 to
protest government’s decision to increase the pump price of petrol from
N86.50 to N145.00.
The Minister for Information, Culture and
Tourism, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who gave the commendation on the sideline
of an interactive session with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in
Lagos on Monday, said the suspension of the strike was a win-win
situation for Nigeria.
“Nigeria has won, and I want to take this
opportunity to thank the NLC for reconsidering their position and
agreeing to join us in negotiation.
“So, it is not who has won, but (it is) Nigeria that has won.’’
He
expressed the Federal Government‘s commitment to actualising its change
agenda through sustained communication between it and Nigerians.
According to him, stakeholders’ meetings will further enhance information flow between government and the citizenry.
“There
is nothing like the government continuously engaging the people; you
notice that we started this about a month or so ago when we started with
our town hall meetings.
“We started in Lagos, moved to Kaduna; we will be in Kano on Friday.
“We
have also been meeting with sectoral groups; we’ve met with the
Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria); we are going to meet
with the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission.
“I believe that it is the
beginning of trying to bridge the gap between the governed and the
government and it is extremely fruitful.
“We’ve heard you, and
learnt a lot as well; but more importantly is that we’ve been able to
explain to you why certain actions were taken.”
The minister further
said that his ministry would hold quarterly meetings with the CSOs in
order to engage Nigerians on national issues.
“This is not going to be a one-of engagement.
“The next time we (will) come with three or four ministers, depending on what issues are prevalent.’’