Fuel price: Partial strike in Enugu as schools, banks remain open

Some workers in Enugu State on Wednesday complied with the industrial action declared by the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC.

‎Meanwhile, all the banks in the state remained operational owing to the stand of the Trade Union Congress, TUC on the strike.

On their part, the NLC leadership in Enugu moved round some places to enforce the strike.

They visited the Enugu State Workers’ secretariat, the Institute of Management and Technology, IMT, Enugu, the Enugu State Broadcasting Service, ESBS, among others.

‎Some of the civil servants interviewed but preferred to remain anonymous said they were in office waiting for further directives from their union leaders.

The State Chairman of the NLC, Comrade Virginus Nwobodo, who led the enforcement exercise, said leaders of the NLC in the state complied and are observing the strike except the Trade Union Congress (TUC) members who were yet to join the industrial action.

Comrade Nwobodo pointed out that 90 percent of the civil servants in the state were not in their offices in compliance with the directives from the NLC national secretariat.


“You can go to the state secretariat, the only workers you will see in the offices are the Directors. Workers in Enugu State are on strike. We have commenced the strike as directed by our leaders,” he stated.

Also lectures went on at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN, as well as the Enugu State University of Science and Technology, ESUT, despite directive by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU.

When contacted, the UNN ASUU chairman, Comrade Ifeanyichukwu Abada said the labour leaders were meeting in Enugu and that the strike would be fully enforced tomorrow (Thursday).

In a press statement made available to journalists, the TUC Enugu State said it would not participate in the strike “based on the agreement reached between labour and the federal government to set up a joint committee to work out modalities for a new minimum wage, review of petrol pump price downwards, the palliatives to cushion the effects of price increase, among others.”

The statement, which was the outcome of an emergency meeting by the union was signed by its chairman, Comrade Igbokwe Chukwuma Igbokwe and the secretary, Comrade Benneth Asogwa.

The group directed that “all workers under the affiliate unions of the congress should go on discharging their routine duties.”