[JUST IN] Indefinite strike: Abia NLC consults with Otti, promises to call off action

The two-week old industrial action embarked upon by the Abia State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress to press for the payment of outstanding salaries and pensions to its members by the government will end soon as the union has assured the in-coming governor, Alex Otti, that it would stop the action.

This assurance followed a meeting between the leadership of the union and the state Governor-elect, late Friday at the Otti’s country home in Isialangwa.

The Abia NLC leadership, led by its chairman, Comrade Pascal Nweke had assured Otti, who will be formally inaugurated on Monday, May 29, 2023, as the governor of the state, of extending the gesture to him after it had consulted its national leadership.

Responding, Otti reiterated his campaign promise to prioritise the issue of salary payments as well as ensure that the arrears are cleared within the shortest time possible.

The national leadership of the NLC had in February declared an indefinite strike in Abia State to compel Governor Okezie Ikpeazu to offset the backlog of salaries, pensions, and retirement benefits owed civil servants.

However, a few days ago, the Alex Otti Inauguration Committee chairman, Hon Iheanacho Obioma, had pleaded with the union to call off the strike as a sign of good faith and support to the incoming Labour Party (LP) administration.