The Nigerian government has amped up security at the meeting location for negotiations between labour union leaders and government representatives in response to a strike action by organised labour that brought the nation’s economic activities to a standstill on Monday. 

The Nigeria Labour Congress, on Monday night, revealed that military officers had encircled the venue where labour leaders were holding a meeting with government officials. However, the union said it wouldn’t cave to intimidation or blackmail.

“Soldiers are presently surrounding the venue of the meeting between labour and government at the premises of the SGF,” the NLC posted on X on Monday. 

The Nigerian Army denied NLC’s statement asserting that a “retinue” of military escorts attached to National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu — attending the meeting— were present.

“Once the meeting is over, the escorts will lead the NSA from the venue,”the Nigerian Army said in response to NLC’s post on X. “Kindly disregard the deliberate and misleading falsehood being peddled about the presence of the escorts at the meeting.”

Top on the list of labour’s demand was the increment of the minimum wage from N30,000 to N494,000 to meet up with the nation’s galloping inflation which has drastically reduced workers’ purchasing power in light of fuel subsidy removal.

The NLC, under the leadership of Joe Ajaero, declared an indefinite nationwide strike across all sectors including aviation which saw many passengers stranded as airport officials complied with the industrial action directive.

Financial institutions under the Trade Union Congress, electricity distribution companies, and water corporations, also participated in the strike forcing the nation’s economy to a halt to compel the attention of relevant stakeholders to convene an emergency meeting on how to resolve the matter.