[size=14pt]UPDATE 4-Nigeria unions suspend strikes in fuel dispute[/size]

Fri Jan 13, 2012 12:34pm EST

* Unions, president to resume talks on Saturday

* Strikes, protests, rallies supended for weekend

* Oil workers threaten to cut output from Sunday (Adds Eurasia Group analysis)

By Joe Brock and Camillus Eboh

ABUJA, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Nigerian unions suspended strikes and protests over rising petrol prices for the weekend on Friday while talks take place between union leaders and government, but warned of more industrial action if there was no resolution.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/13/nigeria-strike-idUSL6E8CD3UQ20120113

Note that the NLC is not authorized to negotiate any price regime with the government. The government proposed N120/liter but it was summarily rejected by NLC reps. N65/liter pre 2012 price must be restored and will be restored. Additionally, the government must commit to fighting corruption in a verifiable manner, or all hell will break lose next week. Subsidy must go, but not before a major and verifiable blow is dealt to corruption.

The cat is out of the bag.

^
Nigeria's problem is not corruption. It is chaos.
Asking for anything less than a restructuring will be a waste of time.

^
You are an idio t!
Nigerias problem is utter corruption championed this time by your slave master. Any restructuring without institutionalizing anti corruption is a waste of time.
@ndu chuks better said! If our refineries were working, there would have been no need for subsidy

The Unions have NOT suspended the strike action, they have only suspended the mass rallies and occupation of strategic places!

The unions have clarified this more than four times, when would you apologists stop spreading falsehood?

Akainzo:

The Unions have NOT suspended the strike action, they have only suspended the mass rallies and occupation of strategic places!

The unions have clarified this more than four times, when would you apologists stop spreading falsehood?

Which part of the press statement do you not understand?

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and Joint Action Front (JAF) commend the Nigerian people for turning out in their millions since Monday January 9, 2012, to protest the astronomical increase in the price of PMS (Petrol). We commend them for their resolute stand and insistence in struggling for a better country.

The Labour Movement and its civil society allies after nationwide consultations has decided that this weekend, Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th January, 2012, will be observed as strike, protest and rally-free days.

We ask Nigerians to utilize these days to rest, restock and get re-energized for the continuation of the strikes, rallies and protests from Monday 16th January, 2012.

Discussions with Government
The NLC, TUC and their allies in the Civil Society Movement on Thursday 12th January 2012 met with the Senate leadership, Nigeria Governors Forum and the Executive Arm.

At the meeting, Labour asked the Presidency to suspend the new petrol (PMS) price increases announced on January 1, 2012. In return, we offered to suspend forthwith, the strikes, mass rallies and street protests. We also suggested that an expanded committee be set up which would discuss the fuel subsidy issue and pricing for petrol.

The Government side presented a counter proposal asking Labour to negotiate new fuel prices. Since we had no such mandate, Labour declined and decided to return to its National Executive Council meetings, which will be held on Saturday 14th January 2012 for a possible expanded mandate.

Labour commends the National Assembly for its intervention and further urges the Presidency to be more reconciliatory towards the people and show more understanding and sensitivity to their feelings and collective interests.

Owei Lakemfa John Kolawole
NLC Acting General Secretary TUC Secretary General

Really dont know why some mature adults cant stand other people who have different views from them.
I'm particularly referring to this Globe guy. Must you insult? Couldnt you just post and move on? Kai! And this rubbish goes on from thread to thread. Una no dey tire?

@Akainzo, just like I was discussing with a friend earlier who kept stressing it was a suspension of the protest and not strike. Fine, whether its protest o, or strike suspension, what we know is there is a suspension and really, to me this one means the same thing since its a weekend affair, it wont be felt

Beaf:

^
Nigeria's problem is not corruption. It is chaos.
Asking for anything less than a restructuring will be a waste of time.

A president budgeted #1 billion for feeding for just a year and you think our problem is not corruption ? Something must be wrong with you !

Odunnu:

Really dont know why some mature adults cant stand other people who have different views from them.
I'm particularly referring to this Globe guy. Must you insult? Couldnt you just post and move on? Kai! And this rubbish goes on from thread to thread. Una no dey tire?

I am waiting for when you would say the same thing to beaf who does basically the same thing from thread to thread insulting others

The Hike in price of gasoline and the removal of government subsidy will cause greater hardship
to Nigerian who are already struggling to cope with so much corruption and untold hardship, the country is in total darkness always interupted power supply, no water bad roads in fact all the infastructures are degraded and crippling. How does Nigerians benefit from the Oil It produce and Export? with Only few people and the leaders benefiting  from the Oil and the rest living in abject poverty. The only way by wish  ordinary Nigerians benefit directly from the oil is the subsidy and cheap Gasoline from the government. Nigerian should not give up, now is the wake up call to fight for Nigeria, against corruption fight for  uninterupted power, good roads  and let the government be transparent, we ask for  good infrastructures. The struggle is beyond Gasoline we want to see improvement in the economy, The Government should spend more on
infracstructure and the basic social amenities.

Beaf:

^
Nigeria's problem is not corruption. It is chaos.
Asking for anything less than a restructuring will be a waste of time.

It's all well and good for you to support your shoeless man but the double speak, disingenuity and outright irresponsibility that have become your modus operandi  for the past year is deplorable, are you this shameless?

'Agba to ba ro efo ika, ko ma gbagbe pe omo toun naa a  je ninu e' . . . . . . . . the elder that prepares a wicked meal should not forget that his children will be partakers of the same meal!!!

It is time Nigerians change their mindset. reconstruction without rooting out corruption is utter nonsense and a waste of time.

naijababe:

It's all well and good for you to support your shoeless man but the double speak, disingenuity and outright irresponsibility that have become your modus operandi  for the past year is deplorable, are you this shameless?

'Agba to ba ro efo ika, ko ma gbagbe pe omo toun naa a  je ninu e' . . . . . . . . the elder that prepares a wicked meal should not forget that his children will be partakers of the same meal!!!

have u noticed that all the gej muppets are now chattering about federalism and restructuring? all their blather about lazy phucks and parasites etal . . .

seems like their paymasters reno and gej have read them the riot act. the world is watching and they have once again shamed themselves

You can say that again when your fellow countrymen is living in abject poverty, darkness and filth with pollution from exust from generators to crown it. you must really love your country

Beaf:

^
Nigeria's problem is not corruption. It is chaos.
Asking for anything less than a restructuring will be a waste of time.

Beaf at it again anyway, we all know it's all about corruption if not nobody would have seen any reason to protest or strike. If the refineries were working, electricity 24/7, good roads, selfless leaders, security, employment, MINIMAL corruption etc were all optimal and i was told to buy fuel at 200naira, why i go send?

@Odunnu
Thanks a lot. Alot of people try to cover up their intellectual inadequacies with agbero behaviour; the statement I made cannot be comprehended by an agbero, so their reactions are expected.

@topic
Like I have said, Nigeria's problem is chaos, not corruption.

Asking for anything less than a total restructuring of the system will be a waste of time. Anything that thrives on chaos will seize advantage, from "roger" demanding police to market women selling food above open sewers, from armed robbers to thieving politicians. Chaos is what allows a rich man to slap a poorer man in public for scratching his car.
More than anything, it is chaos that breeds the openings for corruption to take root, therefore what Nigeria needs is organisation. It is important to note that organisation can only arise from deliberate planning, it will never arise from spur of the moment protests against corruption. The effects of such protests will always be negated by the passage of time and the snatching of opportunities by desperate men in a chaotic system. Our chaotic national structure is the problem, corruption is merely a symptom of the more fundamental disease.

The continuous cycle of poorly targetted protest and defeat by time (because the system remains unchanged) only yields the sort of disengagement, apathy and despondency that is found in the average Nigerian. It will only get worse, because we keep expending our energies going after the symptoms of chaos, rather than attacking the roots of our chaotic system.

What we need is a struggle for true federalism. Any other battle is a foolish waste of time that will attain meaningless short term goals; the defeat of these short term goals will in turn sap our energy for future battles, and the fact that the root of the problem has been left intact will only reschedule the battle for another day. A cycle of useless struggles.

True federalism, a sense of belonging for all Nigerians, regional and cultural autonomies, enforceable state laws, productive states and LG's etc and we are talking.

Yeske!:

Beaf at it again anyway, we all know it's all about corruption if not nobody would have seen any reason to protest or strike. If the refineries were working, electricity 24/7, good roads, selfless leaders, security, employment, MINIMAL corruption etc were all optimal and i was told to buy fuel at 200naira, why i go send?

I am most interested in how you hope to end corruption and get the refineries working, electricity 24/7, good roads, selfless leaders, security, employment etc.

The Labour Movement and its civil society allies after nationwide consultations has decided that this weekend, Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th January, 2012, will be observed as strike, protest and rally-free days

Isn't this like saying you suspend protests against Wall Street on the weekend( To those who do not know WallStreet is Closed during the weekend)??

Beaf:

What we need is a struggle for true federalism. Any other battle is a foolish waste of time that will attain meaningless short term goals; the defeat of these short term goals will in turn sap our energy for future battles, and the fact that the root of the problem has been left intact will only reschedule the battle for another day. A cycle of useless struggles.

True federalism, a sense of belonging for all Nigerians, regional and cultural autonomies, enforceable state laws, productive states and LG's etc and we are talking.

My disappointment with you in the past week has been because you failed to see that the protests were not merely about fuel subsidy. The protests were really against the corruption which is at the root of the ill timed subsidy removal. Instead of joining your fellow Nigerians in the protests, the likes of which we've never seen in Nigeria, which may very well become a path to "true federalism",  you have been vilifying your fellow Nigerians, some of who have given up their lives for the cause, in almost every post you've made on NL in the past week.

This acts of yours are totally uncalled for. I know it is very troubling for you to be faced with the possibility of being in opposition to your uncle, GEJ, but it suffices to tell you that this movement has become larger than you uncle. Your rascality is no longer cute, stand up and be counted, olodo.


@Kobojunkie, a soft landing is being prepared for our President, one or two wins need to appear in his column.

Beaf:

@Odunnu
Thanks a lot. Alot of people try to cover up their intellectual inadequacies with agbero behaviour; the statement I made cannot be comprehended by an agbero, so their reactions are expected.

@topic
Like I have said, Nigeria's problem is chaos, not corruption.

Asking for anything less than a total restructuring of the system will be a waste of time. Anything that thrives on chaos will seize advantage, from "roger" demanding police to market women selling food above open sewers, from armed robbers to thieving politicians. Chaos is what allows a rich man to slap a poorer man in public for scratching his car.
More than anything, it is chaos that breeds the openings for corruption to take root, therefore what Nigeria needs is organisation. It is important to note that organisation can only arise from deliberate planning, it will never arise from spur of the moment protests against corruption. The effects of such protests will always be negated by the passage of time and the snatching of opportunities by desperate men in a chaotic system. Our chaotic national structure is the problem, corruption is merely a symptom of the more fundamental disease.

The continuous cycle of poorly targetted protest and defeat by time (because the system remains unchanged) only yields the sort of disengagement, apathy and despondency that is found in the average Nigerian. It will only get worse, because we keep expending our energies going after the symptoms of chaos, rather than attacking the roots of our chaotic system.

What we need is a struggle for true federalism. Any other battle is a foolish waste of time that will attain meaningless short term goals; the defeat of these short term goals will in turn sap our energy for future battles, and the fact that the root of the problem has been left intact will only reschedule the battle for another day. A cycle of useless struggles.

True federalism, a sense of belonging for all Nigerians, regional and cultural autonomies, enforceable state laws, productive states and LG's etc and we are talking.

I amazed that the type of chaos we see in Nigeria has an order to it, since only the rich and powerful benefit from it.

I'm glad you mentioned true federalism, so tell me what is your man going to do about it?

Yorubas trick Nigerians to die for their Corrupt Brothers, Wale/Adenuga/Jimo. The words of the Yorubas are thesame as the Serpent, Nigerians ignore them and go about your normal business, don't be deceived, Yorubas and Fraud are inseparable.

Wily1Wily:

Yorubas trick Nigerians to die for their Corrupt Brothers, Wale/Adenuga/Jimo. The words of the Yorubas are thesame as the Serpent, Nigerians ignore them and go about your normal business, don't be deceived, Yorubas and Fraud are inseparable.

Tomato professor, welcome.

naijababe:

I amazed that the type of chaos we see in Nigeria has an order to it, since only the rich and powerful benefit from it.

I'm glad you mentioned true federalism, so tell me what is your man going to do about it?

Buying and selling food above a sewers is an example of chaos by the poor. Nigeria simply has no framework of existence and that is chaos.

Beaf:

Buying and selling food above a sewers is an example of chaos by the poor. [size=16pt]Nigeria simply has no framework of existence and that is chaos.[/size]

Semantics Beaf! What exactly is the job of those in office in providing the said framework? Isn't there someone whose's job it is to provide it?

Before you resort to another long winded manipulation of the queen's language, let me use an analogy.

I own a 3-bedroom house in the UK with an extensive garden, I decide to build a conservatory in the garden. I'm required to submit and get an approval of a planning permission from my local council before I even engage workmen let alone start to build.

My planning permission fails to get the required approval and I build my conservatory anyway; an inspector from the councils shows up and I give him a 200 year old matured bottle of  fine Scottish whisky and he turns a blind eye. My neighbour does the same and the multiplier effect takes over. Before anyone could say Jack Robinson, my entire neighbourhood turns overnight into a slum like your pictures above,  tell me would that be chaos or corruption?

Petrol is a bye product of crude oil.  Chaos is a bye product of corruption.

 The chaos you are trying to represent in picture is also a bye product of corruption. Who collects markets levies from those sellers selling at the wrong spot and turns a blind eye to the oddity?. Who approves building plan for a house to be built on a pipeline? ,

naijababe:

Semantics Beaf! What exactly is the job of those in office in providing the said framework? Isn't there someone whose's job it is to provide it?

Before you resort to another long winded manipulation of the queen's language, let me use an analogy.

I own a 3-bedroom house in the UK with an extensive garden, I decide to build a conservatory in the garden. I'm required to submit and get an approval of a planning permission from my local council before I even engage workmen let alone start to build.

My planning permission fails to get the required approval and I build my conservatory anyway; an inspector from the councils shows up and I give him a 200 year old matured bottle of  fine Scottish whisky and he turns a blind eye. My neighbour does the same and the multiplier effect takes over. Before anyone could say Jack Robinson, my entire neighbourhood turns overnight into a slum like your pictures above,  tell me would that be chaos or corruption?

Oh Shi*t.

Quadruple Killer Combo if I ever saw one.

Beaf, Oya answer.

naijababe:

Semantics Beaf! What exactly is the job of those in office in providing the said framework? Isn't there someone whose's job it is to provide it?

Before you resort to another long winded manipulation of the queen's language, let me use an analogy.

I own a 3-bedroom house in the UK with an extensive garden, I decide to build a conservatory in the garden. I'm required to submit and get an approval of a planning permission from my local council before I even engage workmen let alone start to build.

My planning permission fails to get the required approval and I build my conservatory anyway; an inspector from the councils shows up and I give him a 200 year old matured bottle of  fine Scottish whisky and he turns a blind eye. My neighbour does the same and the multiplier effect takes over. Before anyone could say Jack Robinson, my entire neighbourhood turns overnight into a slum like your pictures above,  tell me would that be chaos or corruption?

What do you think makes it difficult for you to give "a 200 year old matured bottle of  fine Scottish whisky" to any official in the UK, I'm sure they love the good life too? The answer is simple, a framework of laws and requirements to fulfill them that a based on the enduring philosophy of what makes one British and have a stake in the success of the system. That is their bulwark against corruption and an anything goes society as obtains in Nigeria. Everything in the UK has its place and its turn, because it has been properly thought out, philosophised and hammered out into a theory of belonging, productivity and Britishness, beginning with the Domesday Book in 1086.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domesday_Book

Similar to the British, the founding fathers of America also hammered out an enduring framework of existence, with the central philosophies of freedom, liberty and the American Dream.

If on the other hand, I were to ask you what makes you a Nigerian, what would your answer be? lol!
We must all sit down and discuss a way forward, we need to expound enduring principles, rights and requirements of Nigerianness, otherwise we are on a spiral of exponentially increasing entropy to nowhere.

Beaf:


We must all sit down and discuss a way forward, we need to expound enduring principles, rights and requirements of Nigerianness, otherwise we are on a spiral of exponentially increasing entropy to nowhere.

When are you going to admit that your uncle, GEJ, will not lead this discussion of your dreams? When will it dawn on you that GEJ is the leader of PDP?

ndu_chucks:

When are you going to admit that your uncle, GEJ, will not lead this discussion of your dreams? When will it dawn on you that GEJ is the leader of PDP?

Stop being funny. I am telling you what is proper for us to go out and demand, I am sure you need leaders of your local community to bring their own idea's forward so that we can collectively "expound enduring principles, rights and requirements of Nigerianness?" No?
If you are waiting for GEJ to come clean your arse, then you have a long wait indeed; even if he wants to, there are 167million people in the country. Lazy fart.

Hey i would like to ask beafy a question. In a  structural organisation do you start constructing from the bottom to the top? or from the top to the bottom? if as you say the answer is restructuring then the change has to come from the top, and i am afraid if people like you can not see this simple solution to our  problem the we really have to do some serious education.

Beaf:

Stop being funny. I am telling you what is proper for us to go out and demand, I am sure you need leaders of your local community to bring their own idea's forward so that we can collectively "expound enduring principles, rights and requirements of Nigerianness?" No?
If you are waiting for GEJ to come clean your arse, then you have a long wait indeed; even if he wants to, there are 167million people in the country.

Stop being delusional and face realities. The kind of discussions you are talking about will only take place if GEJ leads the effort to actualize them.  The alternative is for we, the people, to force the discussions one way or the other.  Nigerians have started the process with recent protests, but people like you have rejected us and have not supported our actions. On the other hand, you don't believe the President should be the person to set the stage for the said discussions.

So I ask you Beaf, how will these discussions start? Don't give us some academic crap, tell us your ideas as to how to initiate a National Conference in a practical manner, under the current dispensation.

Beaf:

Stop being funny. I am telling you what is proper for us to go out and demand, I am sure you need leaders of your local community to bring their own idea's forward so that we can collectively "expound enduring principles, rights and requirements of Nigerianness?" No?
If you are waiting for GEJ to come clean your arse, then you have a long wait indeed; even if he wants to, there are 167million people in the country. Lazy fart.

Yes, there is no frame work in the country and an effective system will all together wipe out corruption, it is however insulting on the intelligence of Nigerian to say "Corruption is not the problem". You cannot paint a picture of dependence. How do propose installing a frame work with institutionalised corruption? Do you think those who have 24-7 access to the President and walk out with billions worth of contracts will allow a framework that rids them of such opportunities?

In light of the last question, how then is corruption not the problem?

In a bid to make GEJ look like a hero, you always skew facts and remain as evasive as possible. Do you have no shame?