Nigeria’s two industrial unions on Monday shelved their planned nationwide strike over the recent hikes in electricity tariff and pump price of petrol.
The Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress suspended their plan after a marathon meeting with the government at which government also shelved for wo weeks the new increases. The meeting, which resumed at 8.30pm on Sunday continued until about 2:50am Monday morning.
The strike action had been scheduled to start today, Monday.
Nigeria government recently announced what it called const-reflective electricity tariffs, allowing the power distribution companies to adjust their prices in the face of rising costs.
The government at the meeting agreed to suspend the new tariffs, which are already being implemented, for two weeks.
Agreements reached at the meeting were read out by Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment.
Those who attended the meeting included the president of NLC Ayuba Wabba, and Quadri Olaleye, president of the TUC, both of whom signed for the labour unions.
Those who presented the government were Ngige; Minister of State Petroleum, Timipre Silva; Minister of State Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo (SAN); Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, as well as the Secretary to Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha and others.
The government and the labour unions set up a committee made up members from the unions and the various ministries, departments and agencies of government.
Starting from Monday, September 28, the committee is expected to work for two weeks to find justifications for the new policy “in view of the need for the validation of the basis for the new cost-reflective tariff as a result of the conflicting information from the fields which appeared different from the data presented to justify the new policy by NERC; metering deployment, challenges, timeline for massive rollout.”
Members of the committee include the Minister of State Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo (SAN) as Chairman; Minister of State Power, Godwin Jedy-Agba; Chairman, National Electricity Regulatory Commission, James Momoh, with the Special Assistant to the President on Infrastructure, Ahmad Zakari serving as the Secretary.
It also included Onoho’Omhen Ebhohimhen, Joe Ajaero (NLC), Chris Okonkwo (TUC) and a representative of electricity distribution companies.
“During the two weeks, the DISCOs shall suspend the application of the cost-reflective electricity tariff adjustments,” the parties said in a communique read out by Ngige.
It noted that the committee would among other things examine the justification for the new policy on cost-reflective electricity tariff adjustments; to look at the different DISCOs and their different electricity tariff vis-à-vis NERC order and mandate; examine and advise government on the issues that have hindered the deployment of the 6 million meters, among others.
In addition, they also noted that the federal government had designed palliatives to ameliorate the sufferings brought upon Nigerian workers by the hike in cost electricity tariffs and the rise in the price of petrol.