The House of Representatives Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, conveyed this message after leading the House leadership to update the President on their engagement with the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), which has initiated a nationwide strike.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has clarified that it has not yet implemented palliatives regarding the removal of petrol subsidies, as it seeks to avoid any errors in the process.
Abbas stated that the President expressed his recent assumption of office and the need for adequate time to analyze the issues raised by workers, for which he is yet to be fully briefed.
He said, the President requested understanding and patience from the labour unions during this crucial evaluation period."
“The things that they mentioned, he is completely unaware of them; he is yet to be briefed about all those issues.
“But from what he heard from me, he also advised that we should channel those issues to the Chief of Staff to look at one after the other.
“I believe in the coming days, some concerted actions will be taken.”
He said the House leadership invited NARD following their intention to go on strike, saying that the lawmakers succeeded in persuading the union to shelve the plan.
“Sequel to the meeting we had with them, there were series of conditions that they gave, that we felt we need to share with the President,” he said.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives visited the Presidential villa on Wednesday to apprise the President of the developments regarding the doctors' association. Additionally, the House leadership took the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the President, as they had not previously met since assuming their leadership roles.
After the Steering Committee meeting on Palliatives, Olu Verheijen, the leader of the government team and Special Adviser to the President on Energy, along with Kachollom Daju, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, clarified that the government has yet to roll out palliatives to avoid any missteps.
Regarding the meeting with organized labour, Verheijen stated that it was productive, and discussions will continue on Friday.
