The Labour union delegation comprising NLC and TUC members
on Wednesday met with the National Security Adviser and government team
including the ministers of Labour and Employment have said that they received
several appeals and assurances from the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu
on promises of what they are going to do regarding the attack on NLC President,
Joe Ajaero and other demands.

President of the Trade Union Congress, Festus Osifo who
spoke on behalf of Labour after the meeting said however that the delegation
will take every discussion and conversation they have had with the government,
back to the organs of labour and inform them before a decision can be taken on
whether the strike should be called off or not

He said, “We came here for a discussion. The NSA invited us
in furtherance of a press release he issued disclosing that some persons have
been arrested in connection with the brutality meted out to the NLC President.
At the end of the day, he made several promises of what they were going to do
and several appeals for the strike to be called off.

“We had a robust conversation and we told him our side of
the issue. The strike was caused by something and the strike is a symptom of
the problem. Every conversation we have had, we are taking it back to our
organs.

“The NSA promised to coordinate all the steps and issues
involved. We will go back, and reappraise the conversations we have had, with
all the assurances they have given us, before coming out with a decision.

On his part, the minister of Labour and Employment, Mr Simon
Lalong disclosed that labour and government representatives had very fruitful,
genuine and frank discussions of the issues involved.

“It is an ongoing discussion. We have not received any
commitment on when the strike will be called off. We have appealed to them. We
don’t expect the strike to take a long time”.

Six conditions

Meanwhile, the national leadership of NLC on Wednesday
listed six conditions that must be met before suspending the action.

NLC, in a post on its official X handle, said the conditions
include the arrest and prosecution of Chinasa Nwaneri, a Special Adviser to the
Imo governor on special duties who allegedly led the attack on the NLC
president and other workers in the state.

It also said all police officers as well as thugs involved
in the attack on the labour leader should be arrested, prosecuted and
dismissed.

Other demands include the arrest, prosecution and dismissal
of the Chief Security Officer in Imo State Government House, simply identified
as SP Shaba.

“He led, participated and provided cover for thugs to
brutalise workers in Imo State,” the NLC alleged.

The labour union also demanded the arrest, prosecution, and
dismissal of an unnamed police area commander who, it claimed, oversaw the
brutalization of the NLC president and other workers in the state.

The final condition is that Ahmed Barde, the former
Commissioner of Police in Imo State, be investigated and prosecuted for his
alleged involvement in the assault on the NLC chief.

“Our demands are simple. We want justice” the union
demanded.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Bako Lalong,
and the Minister of State for Employment, Hon. Nkeiruka Onyeajeocha, were in
attendance at the meeting held at the Office of the National Security Adviser,
ONSA.

Also, in attendance were labour leaders led by TUC
President, Festus Osifo, NLC Secretary General, Emmanuel Ugboaja, and other
Labour leaders.

Recall that the NLC and the TUC had declared an indefinite
nationwide strike on Tuesday, to protest the arrest and brutalisation of NLC
President, Joe Ajaero, by Policemen, in Owerri, Imo State on November 1, 2023.