Nigeria’s government has bowed to pressure from the Labor Union in a move aimed at averting a major breakdown of economic activities following threats of strike and immediately reduced pump price of the Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) from N75 to N70 and directed that the price of kerosene be reverted from N64 to N54. The price of diesel had been fully deregulated.

It also reverted the increase in Value Added Tax from 10 per cent to the old rate of five per cent.

With the concessions, which were announced by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Ambassador Baba Gana Kingibe, the NLC, Trade Union Congress and Joint Action Forum may call off their planned nationwide strike.

Labor had before the announcement by Kingibe said on Monday that the strike would begin on Wednesday.

The SGF said at a news conference in Abuja at about 9.30pm after a meeting with the President of the NLC, Mr. AbdulWaheed Omar, and other union leaders that the government had also agreed to implement a 15 per cent salary increase with effect from January.

On the sale of the Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries, Kingibe said the government asked the labor unions to “go and discuss with the Bureau for Public Enterprises.”

He said, “We have asked the labor leaders to discuss with the BPE on contentious labor issues associated with the sale of refineries and Egbin Thermal Power Plant.”

Kingibe added that the government’s decision to make concessions was not borne out of threats by the labor unions.

He said, “The government is not insensitive to the plight of Nigerians.

“These decisions were taken by the government because it felt they were light and not in response to labor.

“The government invited the NLC and TUC to a meeting this morning and was going to make these decisions known to them but they failed to turn up. They went ahead to make the announcement about their strike.

“We resumed negotiation this afternoon and we conveyed the position we would have told them in the morning. We will resume this negotiation later this (Monday) night or tomorrow morning (Tuesday).

“The essence of the negotiation was to accommodate each other and arrive at what will be mutual to each other.”

A statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media, Mr. Segun Adeniyi, said the concessions underscored Yar’Adua’s inaugural address on May 29, 2007.

The statement reads in part, “Government wishes to assure all Nigerians that it is well aware of the hardships being currently experienced by ordinary people in the country and is fully committed to doing everything possible to improve their living conditions.

“This resolve was underscored by the President in his inaugural address on May 29 this year when he said, ‘Let us join together to ease the pains of today while working for the gains of tomorrow.’”

The labor leaders refused to respond to government overtures on Monday night. They said they would review the government offers on Tuesday.

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria and the National Association of Road Transport Owners have already indicated that they would no longer participate in any nationwide strike.

The two unions said they were pleased with the decisions of the government.

The leader of the Joint Negotiating Team, who is also the President of NARTO, Alhaji Lawal Isa, said in Abuja, “We (NARTO and IPMAN) are set to call off the strike.