By Erewunmi Peace

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday night held a high-level meeting with leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in a last-minute effort to prevent a planned nationwide protest over the worsening state of insecurity across the country.

The meeting took place at the State House, Abuja, and commenced at about 11:27 pm, underscoring the urgency of the discussions ahead of the protest scheduled by organised labour.

In attendance were NLC President, Joe Ajaero; Governor of Imo State and Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, Hope Uzodimma; Governor of Kebbi State, Nasir Idris; and the Minister of Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, alongside other senior government officials.

The proposed protest by the NLC is aimed at drawing national attention to the deteriorating security situation, which labour leaders say has continued to claim lives, disrupt livelihoods and worsen economic hardship for Nigerian workers and citizens.

Although details of the closed-door meeting were not immediately disclosed, Ajaero said after the talks that the NLC leadership would consult internally and review the outcome of the discussions before taking a final decision on whether to proceed with the protest.

The late-night engagement is part of the Federal Government’s broader effort to de-escalate tensions with organised labour and find common ground on addressing insecurity and other socio-economic challenges facing the country.

As of the time of filing this report, no official statement had been issued by the Presidency on the outcome of the meeting.