From Fred Itua, Juli­ana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja and Gabriel Dike, Lagos

THE Senate, yesterday, directed its Committee on Labour to immediately interface with the Federal Government and labour unions to find immediate solutions to the lingering crisis occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy.

Deputy President, Ike Ekwerenmadu, who presid­ed over plenary, disclosed that the Senate reached the decision during an hour long executive session.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) began a nationwide strike yesterday, to protest the increase in price of petrol.

However, the strike is not full blown as a faction of the NLC and other civil society groups have pulled out, arguing that it was unneces­sary.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government ordered secu­rity agencies to ensure un­impeded access to offices, work places and markets.

It also warned that acts of intimidation, harassment, including barricading of gates, locking up of of­fices, blocking of roads and preventing workers from carrying out their lawful duties would be met with appropriate response by the law enforcement agencies.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federa­tion (SGF), Babachir David Lawal in a four-paragraph statement further warned workers to desist from disobeying the law of the land by joining illegal stike, reminding them of the Trade Dispute Act, 2004, of no work no pay, adding that attendance register will be opened in all ministries, departments and agencies.

In a related development, the Federal Government in response to the pronounce­ment by the Trade Union Congress calling off the industrial action, directed all civil servants to report to duty.

A circular issued to all permanent secretaries and heads of extra-ministerial departments by Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and signed by the Permanent Secretary, Common Services Office (CSO) in the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mr. S.K.Y. Adelakun, urged civil ser­vants to report punctually to work daily.

The circular further directed all permanent sec­retaries and heads of extra-ministerial departments to ensure strict compliance to the directive.

The Federal Govern­ment has also denied that its negotiation with both factional leaders of the NLC, Ayuba Wabba and Joe Ajaero at separate meetings was encouraging factionali­sation as well as preventing organised labour from car­rying out its planned strike.

This is even as it gave assurance that it was ready to return to the nego­tiation table with the organised labour whenever they deemed fit.

Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chris Ngige, said this while briefing journalists alongside the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, Attorney General and Minister of Jus­tice, Abubakar Malami and Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari.

“We are ready to discuss with anybody, even civil society groups. We as gov­ernment will not encourage factionalism. If for any­thing, we are unifying them by bringing them together to talk about issues that concern their unions and Nigerians. We have a right to talk to whoever we want. “We will open our doors to them for negotiations when they come back,” Ngige said.

Ngige had presented a report on the understand­ing reached between the organised labour and the government’s team lead by the labour minister.

According to him, Wabba’s faction rejected sitting on the same table with Ajaero to negotiate with govern­ment, explaining that the government resorted to meeting each faction dif­ferently in a bid to halt the strike and save Nigerians from unnecessary hardship.

The Ajaero faction that met with the FG’s team on Tuesday had agreed to back down from the strike, tabling its own condition which include, the review of the national minimum wage, their inclusion in the board of Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) so they can participate in determining the pricing template, and involvement in the various components of government’s social in­vestment programmes in order to monitor implemen­tation.

An agreement was reached with this faction as government set up a 15-man committee to work on all the issues agreed based on a tripartite arrangement.

The Wabba faction had refused further negotia­tions with government until it reverted to the old pump price of N86.50. He led his team to walk out of nego­tiation with the FG’s team insisting on strike despite an injunction from the National Industrial Labour Court of Nigeria (NICN).

Ngige explained that gov­ernment decided to secure the injunction when it discovered that the body language of the NLC faction was not favourable.

According to him, there are processes to be followed in embarking on an indus­trial action, especially that of serving a 15-day notice but labour never adhered to that.

Speaking in the same vain, Malami said the idea of going to court was not to promote disharmony but to enforce constitutionality.

“Labour had threatened to shut down the economy which can lead to break down of law and order. They must serve the govern­ment 15 days notice before embarking on strike, there should be a reconciliation process but all these were not complied with.

The Minister of State for Education, Prof. Anthony Gozie Anwukah, asked “N’digbo in the Diaspora” to fully support the Buhari administration and the new fuel price regime.

To do otherwise, the minister said, will amount to prolonging the suffering of Nigerians.

A statement signed by the Deputy Director, Press and Public Relation of the min­istry, Mr. Ben Bem Goong, said the new price regime will crash oil price in the long run, check smuggling and ensure product avail­ability, price stability and uniformity nationwide.

The minister spoke in Abuja when he played host to a group of N’digbo leaders living across the 31 states of the dederation.