President Bola Tinubu has appealed to the organised labour to give him more time to look into their grievances rather than embark on industrial action.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas disclosed this to ait.live after leading members of the house leadership to brief the President on the outcome of their engagement with the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), which has declared a nationwide strike.
According to him, President Tinubu appealed that he is new in office and needs time to evaluate the issues that are being raised by workers over which he is yet to be briefed.
“What he said was that he’s just coming on board. We should ask them and beg them to please give him a little more time. Things that they mentioned, he is completely unaware of them, he is yet to be briefed about all those issues.
“But from what he heard from me, he also advised that we should channel some of those issues to the Chief of Staff to look at them one after the other.
“I believe the next coming days, some concerted actions will be taken.”
The Speaker said the House leadership invited NARD following their intention to go on strike, saying that the lawmakers succeeded in persuading the union to shelve the plan.
“Sequel to the meeting we had with them, there were series of conditions that they gave, that we felt we needed to share with the president,” he said.
The Speaker explained that the purpose of the visit to the Presidential villa on Wednesday was to intimate the President of the progress made with the doctors association.
Asked why the second visit in 24 hours to the State House, Abbas said: “Yesterday’s visit was primarily to brief Mr President on our engagement with National Residents Doctors Association whom we got wind were planning to embark on strike.
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“So, we invited them and persuaded them to withdraw that plan. Sequel to the meetings we had with them, there were series of conditions that they gave that we felt that we needed to share with Mr President. And that was what brought me yesterday, to intimate him on what we have discussed and the agreements so far reached and issues that they have raised that needed his attention.
“And today’s visit, as you can see, we are together, the whole leadership of the House is here. Since our election, as leaders of 10th House of Representatives, we didn’t come formally to present them to Mr President.
“So, today, we requested for this audience primarily to bring and introduce them for him to get to know them and for them to get to know him. That’s just what we are here for.”
Asked what the next step is since the House intervention didn’t stop them from declaring industrial action, he said: “Well, it’s a work in progress. I’m sure some of the issues that they have raised, if we are able to meet some of their expectations halfway of which we are on it, we already set up an ad-hoc committee chaired by the Majority Leader of the House to look at those issues.
“I’m sure with one or two interventions in their areas of concern, we will prevail on them to come back to the negotiating table and also accept to withdraw that strike.”
Asked what the House was doing to halt the August 2 protest by organized NLC, Abbas said: “In the same manner, same way, we will also invite them to come and sit so that we hear their grievances and then we follow the same pattern of engaging and persuading them to give us a little time so that we will be able to meet their expectations.”
(Editor: Paul Akhagbemhe)
