Naira: NLC suspends planned strike, gives CBN fresh ultimatum

Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) President, Comrade Joe Ajaero

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has suspended the planned nationwide workers strike over the scarcity of naira notes.

Even as it announced the suspension of the strike at the end of its national executive council meeting on Tuesday, the labour union also gave the Central Bank of Nigeria a fresh two-week ultimatum to ensure seamless withdrawals of cash by Nigerians from banks/ATMs across the country.

The NLC had earlier disclosed that it would begin an indefinite strike from Wednesday, March 29, 2023, adding that it would picket branches of the CBN nationwide.

It insisted that the CBN must find a permanent solution to cash scarcity.

President of NLC, Joe Ajaero, and his counterpart in the TUC, Festus Osifo, gave the fresh ultimatum at a joint press briefing which held at Labour House, at the end of their National Executive Council meeting, on Tuesday.

The CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, in an attempt to avert the impending crisis, had called on the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, to prevail on the labour leaders.
Ajaero said after receiving briefings from its state councils in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, the NLC decided to defer the picketing directive issued to workers last week.

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The labour leader told reporters that the NLC would resume the planned protest if naira notes become unavailable to Nigerians by the end of the two weeks.

He said committees had been set up at both the national and state levels to monitor situations in banks and report to it at the end of the two-week ultimatum.

He said, “Yes, there has been compliance but the NLC after its NEC meeting doubted the sustainability of the compliance.

“We have to monitor this compliance for the next two weeks to see whether it is sustainable because they have rushed to move money to commercial banks and some of them are getting empty again. It will be very naive for the congress to hurriedly call off the action. Whereas we are not shutting down tomorrow.

“We will want to loosen up for another two weeks with committees set up at the national level and all the states of the federation to coordinate compliance. There are some banks that didn’t open on the weekend. We advise the CBN to play the role of the regulator. They can sanction banks that are not complying.”