At loggerheads

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has accused the Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, of trying to scuttle the implementation of its recent agreement with the federal government. The union warned that Nigerians would hold the minister responsible if the situation results in a national industrial crisis. The NLC General Secretary, Emmanuel Ugboaja, said the government was giving support to the illegal faction of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and encouraging them to conduct their own delegates conference, both zonally and nationally, to confer legitimacy to their action.

During the Buhari administration, the NLC constantly accused the Labour Minister of his insincerity during negotiations, and this has spilt over into the Tinubu administration. In actuality, Nigerians are fed up with both the government and the unions, as it is now clear that neither of them is concerned about Nigerians. Rather, they are interested in power and money. Still, it is sad that this early in the Tinubu administration, the fractious politics of the NURTW in the South West has been transported to Abuja, and it is already spilling over into the wider polity. Already, there have been violent clashes at the NURTW headquarters in Abuja. All the stakeholders need to nip this in the bud since we cannot afford this debacle at the national level.