The Nigerian Army has denied deploying soldiers to the venue of the meeting between the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and federal government representatives. The army posted on its Twitter handle (X), stating, “The attention of Army Headquarters has been drawn to a false breaking news by NLC alleging that soldiers currently surround the venue of the ongoing meeting between NLC and the SGF.”
The army clarified that the presence of military personnel was due to the national security adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, attending the meeting. “Kindly note that the NSA, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, who is also attending the meeting, arrived at the meeting venue with his retinue of statutorily approved military escorts. Once the meeting is over, the escorts will lead the NSA from the venue,” the statement said. “Kindly disregard the deliberate and misleading falsehood being peddled about the presence of the escorts at the meeting.”
Earlier, the NLC had posted on its Facebook page that soldiers surrounded the meeting venue at the premises of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. The NLC stated that it wouldn’t give in to blackmail or intimidation, indicating that such actions would only prolong the strike.
The ongoing dispute between the Nigerian government and labour leaders concerns the new minimum wage. While the government has proposed N60,000, labour leaders are demanding N494,000.