NLC calls Off Strike!

After six days of protests and mass rallies over the hike in the price of petrol, the Labour movement yesterday suspended its nationwide strike.
Labour leaders, under the aegis of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) enumerated the gains of the protests.
It noted that the new N97 per litre price of petrol was a unilateral decision of the Federal Government.
The Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) had, on January 1, announced the withdrawal of petrol subsidy, which jacked up petrol price to between N138 to N200. The price hike caused increases in the prices of goods and services. 
The Labour movement, on January 9, began the nationwide strike, rallies and protests following Federal Government’s refusal to revert the price to N65. 
Announcing the suspension of the industrial action, rallies and street protest at the Labour House in Abuja yesterday, NLC President Comrade Abdulwahed Omar noted that the government “that chorused continuously that  its decision to increase PMS (petrol) price to N141 is irreversible and irreducible, was forced to announce a price reduction to N97”. 
In a statement titled: Suspension of strikes and mass protests against hike in fuel prices, Labour said: “With the experiences of the past eight days, we are sure that no government or institution will take Nigerians for granted again.”
The statement reads: “In the past eight days through strikes, mass rallies, shutdown, debates and street protests, Nigerians demonstrated clearly that they cannot be taken for granted and that sovereignty belongs to them.
“In the last 24 hours, the Labour movement and its allies who had the historic responsibility of coordinating these mass actions have had cause to review the various actions and decided that in order to save lives and in the interest of national survival, these mass actions be suspended.
“We note the major successes Nigerians scored in these past days in which they rose courageously as a people to take their destiny in their hands.
“First, the Federal Government that chorused continuously that its decision to increase petrol (PMS) price to N141 is irreversible and irreducible, was forced to announce a price reduction to N97. We, however, state categorically that this new price was a unilateral one by the Federal Government.
“Secondly, the government has been made to adopt the policy to drastically reduce the cost of governance.
“A third major success Nigerians recorded is to get the Federal Government to decisively move against the massive and crippling corruption in the oil sector. While until now the government has seemed helpless to tackle corruption, the mass action of the people has compelled it to address accountability issues in the sector.
“In this wise, President Goodluck Jonathan has told the nation that the forensic audit report on the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) will be studied and proven acts of corruption will be sanctioned.