Following the intervention of the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige the industrial dispute that grounded activities at the National Population Commission (NPC) has been resolved. The resolution came after long hours of conciliation meeting summoned by the Minister in his office today.

The meeting which had the Chairman of the Commission Eze Duru Ihuoma (SAN), the Director General, Dr. Ganji Bello, some NPC State Commissioners as well as Directors, National Excecutives, leaders of the four Trade Unions in the Commission and the representative of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) in attendance, resolved among others that the appointment of Dr. Ganji Bello as the Director General of the Commission in line with Section 171 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by the President stands. Dr. Bello is therefore to resume work on Monday, January 29, 2018 in line with the agreement.

The meeting further agreed that greater attention be paid to the clearance of the outstanding staff allowances such as repatriation, burial, duty tour among others. It therefore resolved to dedicate at least 20% of the first quarter and subsequent overhead costs releases towards achieving this.

While it was further resolved that the Commission should commit more effort towards staff capacity building in order to enhance productivity, the management of the Commission was mandated to urgently bridge the communication gap between it, the staff and unions in the commission through scheduled meetings in the spirit of social dialogue to diffuse tension and tackle areas of differences.

Besides, the meeting resolved that the posting of a State Director to Lagos State by the Human Resources Directorate of the Commission stands and that the officer be allowed to assume duties and be given necessary support to discharge his responsibilities. Any complaints on his discharge of duties should be communicated to the Chairman of the Commission after an intervening period of three months.

Similarly, a committee set up to identify the Commission’s landed property in Lagos, the accruable revenue from rent thereof, spanning a period last five years, was expanded to include the representative of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. The committee is expected to turn in its reports in two weeks.

In the same vein, the unions are to take back the conclusions of the conciliation meeting to their respective members and workers in order to be apprised of the development and the outcome of the meeting, while a period of 60 days was given to all parties to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the agreement.

Finally, the meeting resolved that no worker should be victimized or harassed for his or her role in the conciliated Trade Dispute.

Both parties to the meeting commended the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment for their vigorous and efficient intervention.