Strike: Ajimobi , labour hold peace parley
The national leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Nigerian Union of Teachers, on Wednesday, held a seven-hour peace parley with the Governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, towards resolving the dispute that culminated in the ongoing industrial action by the workers.
The NLC was led to the parley by the Deputy President of the union, Comrade Peters Adeyemi, while the National Chairman of the Nigerian Union of Teachers, who doubles as the Vice Chairman of the NLC led the NUT to the meeting that lasted late into the night.
In company with them were the State Chairman of the NLC, Comrade Waheed Olojede and other labour representatives from the national headquarters of the NLC and NUT, as well as their state representatives.
Briefing the press after the meeting, Adeyemi said that the meeting was fruitful, stressing that the parties were yet to reach a conclusion on the matter following the request by the labour representatives to be given 24 hours to enable them to brief the congress on the outcome of the meeting.
He added that the final decision of the labour unions would be communicated to members of the public through the media after meeting with the congress on Thursday.
Adeyemi said, “I want to inform you that no conclusive agreement has been reached after our lengthy meeting with the Governor. However I want to assure the people that the leadership of the union will go back to brief our members on the deliberations we had with the governor.
“I’m assuring you that honest and final decisions would be taken tomorrow (Thursday) after we must have briefed our members and later we will address the press for members of the public to know the outcome.
“I want to use this opportunity to acknowledge and commend the governor for his large heart, which he demonstrated by devoting seven hours to today’s meeting. We all had the opportunity to table issues under dispute.”
Besides commending the governor for his “understanding, patience and tolerance,” the NLC boss also saluted the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon. Michael Adeyemo, for facilitating the meeting with the governor.
He noted that the timely intervention by the leadership of the House of Assembly and concerned stakeholders since the crisis broke out was noteworthy.
In his response the governor lauded the commitment and maturity with which the national leadership of the union handled the labour impasse, pointing out that the labor leaders displayed sincerity of purpose and high sense of maturity.
Ajimobi said that the meeting reflected government’s honesty and sincerity on various issues that came up for discussion at the parley.
He said, “I want to appreciate the commitment and maturity of the national leadership of labour and the NUT which they displayed today during our meeting. In fact, it was a reflection of honesty and sincerity of purpose, openness and transparency.
“We are by this dialogue deepening democracy. Democracy is about discussion, consultation and all of us must participate in it because there is no other way out other than to ensure the continued progress and development of our state and the country at large.
“We have had a family discussion and I’m optimistic that the crisis will soon be laid to rest. Dialogue is the potent weapon in any dispute and that is what I have been advocating. It’s good to jaw-jaw instead of war-war.”
