Labour Commends Reps Motion: Inside the intrigues and why PDP failed to stop Reps
By Danlami Nmodu         Newsdiaryonline Sun Jan 8,2012

Tambuwal

The Peoples Democratic Party,PDP reportedly made  desperate attempts  to stop the emergency session which the House of Reps held in Abuja today.But the party failed in its bid due to what insiders believe was a combination of factors.

The House of Representative at the session today passed a motion  urging  the FG to suspend the removal of fuel subsidy.The House also urged Labour to reconsider it strike action.Reps  equally set up  committees to interface with labour and government.But Labour in its reaction commended the House for its courageous call on the FG to suspend the withdrawal of subsidy.

Even before the emergency session began an insider  wondered "how can the  the PDP leadership expect this House of Representatives which the PDP had no hand in its emergence expect the Reps to listen to  it”Newsdiaryonline learnt that the party’s failure to contain the the House was a fallout of PDP’ miscalculation and it inability to listen to suggestions long before this crisis  about how to constructively engage the new House leadership.Many today however feel the independence of the House may be the saving grace in this unfolding crisis.

A source said shortly after the new leadership of Aminu Tambuwal  emerged, at least a member of the House of Reps who was sympathetic to  Aso Rock’s candidate Mulikat Adeola had made proposals to the party  on how to engage the new leadership in a close working relationship.His suggestion was aimed at that time in ensuring that key positions that would be vital at critical times should be manned by reps sympathetic to the party and the president.

But the party and  apparently even the villa shunned this suggestion.Now they are paying the price ;as the total control of the House by independent minded leaders now makes it difficult for the party to get anything tangible from the reps' leadership .Or so it seems.It is particularly so because the Reps' leaders are  obviously  very conscious always of how they  emerged  as true representatives of the  people.  

Sources said some elements perhaps  determined to frustrate today’s session even levelled allegations of religious insensitivity against Tambuwal and his team .Tambuwa was accused of ignoring the feelings of Christian members by fixing the meeting for today.But the attendance  indicates that those who initiated the religious campaign against the House leadership failed.Even a member who raised the issue or religious mysteriously praised Tambuwal.But those aware  of the negative campaign  ahead of the session were not surprised that  the matter cropped up.It was alleged that Tambuwal had been advised to hold the meeting earlier in the week, but he suddenly travelled ,only to fix the meeting for Sunday.

There is an even deeper disconnect between the villa and most of its supporters in the House .Newsdiaryonline learnt that some reps sympathetic to government are furious that the presidency has not taken them along.It appears ,said one source that the liaison officers may  be no existent.'Most of us were not carried along and so even if the matter come up for discussion we will not be able to defend the president,'a member reportedly said.

But shorn of all the intrigues, it appears the House resolution today may have provided the government a window of opportunity for resolving the crisis. Before now, the relationship between Labour and the presidency appeared to gave broken down given the unilateral decision of the government to remove subsidy while further  consultations were expected by the stakeholders .Now that the House has presented itself as a credible arm of government to intervene in the dialogue between labour and government, some insiders believe a way out may in fact be in the horizon. That will depend however on the presidency -which appears to have shown a capacity to fritter away goodwill with inexplicable abandon.

Read labour's reaction to the House motio:

House motion is the solution to the fuel price increase crises 

The Labour Movement and its allies highly commend the Federal House of Representatives for its patriotic motion demanding that the Jonathan administration immediately suspends the astronomical increasing in the price of PMS (petrol).

This motion if adopted by the Executive will immediately douse the explosive tension in the country and restore it to its pre-January 1, 2012 normalcy. We commend the House and its exemplary leadership for rising to the demands of the times, and in a bipartisan manner, seeking to steer the country away from a path that may have disastrous consequences.

The House of Representatives displayed exemplary leadership in not just cutting short its break, but also meeting on a Sunday.  If other arms of governance work with the exemplary speed, seriousness, sensitivity and patriotic zeal as the House of Representatives did today; our country would be a far better place to live.

The Labour Movement calls on the Senate to also rise up to the expectations of Nigerians by concurring with the House motion. 

We hope and pray that President Goodluck Jonathan will listen to the loud voice of the Nigerian people which this motion has further ventilated by immediately suspending the fuel price hikes and allowing dialogue and consultation on the issue of fuel subsidy removal.

The Strikes and Protests Must  go on The Labour Movement reiterates that the indefinite strikes, rallies and mass protests will commence across the country tomorrow Monday 9th January 2012.  We ask Nigerians to disregard the disinformation by the Jonathan administration and its surrogates claiming that Labour has had a rethink on the strike.

We reiterate that the right to peaceful protest is a fundamental one which no institution or force can abridge.

The Labour Movement commends Nigerians in the diaspora for their support and continued protests. We also commend the Nigerians in the United States who plan to protest tomorrow morning against the fuel price hikes in front of the World Bank headquarters in Washington.  The Breton Wood Institutions which include the IMF and the World Bank will not be allowed to dictate anti-people policies such as fuel subsidy removal to the Nigerians.

Owei Lakemfa                                                  John Kolawole                                                                         

NLC Acting General Secretary                  TUC Secretary General