The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has opted out of the planned nationwide strike proposed by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC).

This was contained in a statement by the Vice President of the TUC, Tommy Etim, on Thursday.

Etim blamed the decision to pull out of the planned strike on what he described as “lack of decision making”.

He emphasized on the need for collective agreement between labour unions before reaching a decision to embark on a protest.

“We cannot join the protest because the decision was not taken collectively. It is very clear that by virtue of the letter, there is no way we can join the protest,” Etim said.

“We are writing to address a matter of mutual concern and our disappointment regarding the recent unilateral issuance of two days’ national protest with specified dates.

“You will recall that both centres issued a joint statement with a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government. This ultimatum will expire on Thursday, February 22nd, and the right thing to do was for both leaders to review the situation and agree on the way forward prior to convening our respective NEC meetings.

“Our respective NEC is made up of highly intelligent individuals who are desirous that we both work together always in our collective interest. Even if we didn’t anticipate our NEC decision meetings, it is our responsibility as leaders to harmonise our positions before jointly going to the press.

“It was our understanding that decisions of such magnitude would be made collectively, ensuring that the interests and perspectives of all parties involved are duly considered.

“This is the way other leaders of both centres have worked together from the time of SECSCAN to when TUC was formally registered.”

Meanwhile, the NLC has rejected the advice of the Department of State Services (DSS) to shelve the nationwide protest scheduled for February 27 and 28.

I’m a statement on Wednesday evening, NLC president described the advice as unsolicited adding that it would proceed with the protest the hardship currently being faced by most Nigerians.