Security Agencies Meet Labour Over Picketing Of NNPCL

The Borno State Police Command, Nigerian Army and other security agencies yesterday held a meeting with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) in Borno State over planned picketing of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) in Maiduguri over the fuel subsidy removal recently introduced by the federal government. 

The Garrison Commander, 7 Division of the Nigerian Army,  Brig. Gen. Jafar Ibrahim, urged residents to be mindful of the manner they react to the recent fuel subsidy removal by the federal government, warning that any move to cause pandemonium over the policy would overheat the already tensed and fragile state and invite terrorists who are hibernating within the people, waiting for such opportunity to penetrate and wreak havoc.

He appealed for calm over the situation,  saying the government that introduced the policy must have a reason for doing so and as such would introduce measures to cushion the effects on the populace. 

He urged the leadership of the NLC and the TUC to consider the fragile nature of the state while carrying out any form of protest and hoped that the unions would carry stakeholders along in their activities. 

The commissioner of police,  Abdu Umar said the stakeholders’ meeting which involved IPMAN,   NNPCL ,  NLC  and   TUC  among others was on the purported picketing that was to hold on Friday within the premises of the NNPCL.

He added that the issue of picketing was debunked by both the TUC and NLC , while the issue of pump price was being deliberated at the federal level,  noting that the NLC and TUC assured that the outcome of the meeting would be extended to stakeholders. 

He appealed to TUC and NLC to avail themselves whenever the command is in need of their attention. 

The secretary in the office of the Secretary to the State Government who represented the acting SSG, Danjuma Ali , promised that the state would give maximum support to ensure that calm is maintained on the issue.