To prevent a protest, Ngige talks with the NLC and CBN.
Members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) were planning to strike and picket the CBN offices throughout the country, so yesterday, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, met with Joe Ajaero, the president of the NLC, and key CBN officials, including Governor Godwin Emefiele.
Ngige advised the NLC to engage the CBN via productive conversation rather than causing more harm to the already unstable economy when he met the organisations at the Ministry of Labour in Abuja.
Ngige reportedly indicated that social interaction will enable the CBN to make adjustments sooner rather than after Labour pushes the economy to a crisis point, according to a reputable source who attended the meeting and spoke to The Guardian.
He said that the CBN has responded significantly, but that more money needed to be sent into the economy in order for it to reach all areas of the nation.
The CBN committed, according to the source, to make sure there is enough money available for the economy.
According to the source, “he promised that they would guarantee cash flow in the economy and pledged to expand and deepen what they are now doing, to ensure it circulates. He also promised that by tomorrow there will be a better improvement in the availability of cash.
During the meeting, Ajaero said that it was necessary to provide a new direction on what had been witnessed to the National Executive Council (NEC) of the Congress.
“Because our NEC members come from several states, they will each provide a report on the situation in their respective states. So, choices on whether to go on strike or not will be made in light of their experiences in their individual states, according to Ajaero.
Also, the NLC instructed staff to inform state councils when banks were not distributing cash.
According to The Guardian, the NLC has set a meeting of its NEC for today to make a final decision about the planned countrywide strike for Wednesday.
After its last Friday NEC meeting, when affiliate unions and state councils were instructed to keep an eye on the financial situation and the progress banks were making with regard to cash release, the NLC issued the mandate.
Recall that last week, CBN representatives met with NLC leaders to inform them of the central bank’s attempts to stabilize the country’s cash situation.
