Unions Withdraw From Planned Labour Strike In Akwa Ibom

Ahead of the planned onslaught called by the Akwa Ibom State section of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) slated to statesman tomorrow, affiliate unions including the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), National Union of Pensioners (NUP), the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council (JPNSC) and others person backed retired of the action.

The NLC president successful the state, Comrade Sunny James, had fixed the authorities authorities a seven-day ultimatum wrong which to instrumentality the N32,000 pension currency to pensioners arsenic directed by the National Income and Wages Commission (NIWC).

He besides explained that the onslaught enactment became indispensable for the authorities authorities to code the alleged discriminatory attraction meted retired to 4 unit members of the State Assembly Service Commission (SASC), who were accused of workplace diabolism and aboriginal demobilised to roam successful the main civilian work without due postings.

But aft their abstracted meetings astatine the weekend, the affiliate unions resolved to boycott the projected onslaught and declared their unalloyed loyalty to government.

NULGE enactment successful a communique jointly signed by its authorities chairman, Comrade Anestina Iweh, and the authorities secretary, Comrade Ofunne Christopher Chidi, announced its withdrawal, describing the projected protestation onslaught arsenic a idiosyncratic vendetta.

“Governor Umo Eno, has kept religion with section authorities workers by clearing gratuity arrears from 2014-2018, and presently 2019; paying pensions promptly, settling permission grants, and paying promotion arrears. With these strides, NULGE sees nary justification to enactment successful the projected NLC protest.

We basal firmly with the politician and pledge continued solidarity with his administration,” the communique read.

In the aforesaid vein, the NUP expressed displeasure implicit the planned action, noting that “the NLC measurement is wrong,” and, therefore, its withdrawal.

The NUP pensioners noted that the NLC’s large request which is the N32,000 pension increase, had already been discussed with the Head of the Civil Service (HoCS), Elder Effiong Essien, connected August 26, 2025.

“The implementation day is not yet due. We truthful nonstop each our members not to articulation the protest, but to await the result of the statement already reached with the HoCS,” the pensioners stated.

In a abstracted development, 1 of the affected workers, Sir Jeremiah Efe, an accountant earlier posted from the Assembly Service Commission to different ministry, who is present a manager successful complaint of the Account and Finance astatine the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, besides issued a ceremonial missive dissociating himself from the planned protestation and onslaught action.

On its part, the JPSNC, rising from an exigency gathering connected September 10 successful Uyo, reviewed the NLC’s grievances implicit unit postings astatine the Assembly Service Commission, and the non-implementation of the N32,000 pension increase.

In its resolution, JPSNC declared, “Given the divisions wrong the labour movement, we are not portion of the planned NLC protest. We impulse the authorities and unions to clasp dialog due to the fact that it’s amended to jaw-jaw alternatively than war-war – successful resolving each outstanding issues.”

The solution was signed by the chairman, JPSNC, Comrade Etido Udo, and the Secretary, Comrade Kingsley Ekong.

However, the peculiar advisor to the politician connected Labour Relations, Sir Udo Kerian Akpan, explained that the contented successful contention was already a settled substance arguing that “there is nary request for immoderate protestation oregon onslaught by immoderate national oregon person.”