The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) National Executive Council, in a meeting on Wednesday night, decided to temporarily suspend the ongoing strike. This decision was influenced by the intervention of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
According to Punch Newspapers, the meeting, which commenced shortly after 7 pm and lasted close to an hour, involved a thorough review by various affiliates and state chapters of the discussions held between the organized labor leaders and Ribadu.
Tommy Etim, the National Deputy Vice-President of the TUC, confirmed the suspension of the strike in an interview with Punch correspondent in Abuja. He stated, “The NEC of the NLC and the TUC have suspended the strike. We did this based on our trust in the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, who gave us his words.”
Earlier in the day, labor leaders had a meeting with Ribadu and the Minister of Labour, Simon Lalong, at the Office of the National Security Adviser. During this meeting, the NSA announced that those responsible for the alleged brutalization of NLC National President Joe Ajaero had been arrested.
The organized labor had initiated the strike to protest against the reported mistreatment of Joe Ajaero and the government’s alleged failure to implement certain agreements reached on October 2, 2023.