The President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, has commenced a meeting with organized labour in the First Lady Wing of the Presidential Villa.
He is meeting with a team from the Trade Union Congress and the Nigeria Labour Congress.
In a meeting held earlier in the day with the state governors and ministers, Jonathan got the mandate of the governors to negotiate with labour on their behalf.
Jonathan has also approved a probe of the disbursement of subsidy funds.
The probe is to be carried out by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Dizeani Allison-Madueke, dropped this hint in a statement in Abuja on Sunday.
Allison-Madueke said the decision to probe the disbursement of the subsidy fund was a fallout of the protest that came as a result of the removal of subsidy on petrol and the need to maintain transparency and accountability, which she described as policies of the Jonathan administration.
She added: “With the presidential approval, I have written to invite the EFCC to immediately review all payments made in respect of subsidies on PMS and kerosene and to take all necessary steps to prosecute any incidence of malfeasance, fraud, over-invoicing and related illegalities in an open and transparent manner.”
In a letter to the acting Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Lamorde, dated January 12, 2012 and made available to newsmen, Allison-Madueke urged the anti-graft agency to “root out all forms of corruption and abuse within the subsidy regime.”
She added in the statement: “I have directed all officials of PPPRA and related agencies in the Ministry of Petroleum to make themselves available in the event of any interviews.
“I have set up a unit within my office to be headed by an independent auditor to review the KPMG and other audit reports on NNPC and other paratstals, and immediately begin implementation of their findings , ensuring at all times, full probity and value for money.”