Nigeria's strike takes toll on telecom exhibition

The Association of Telecom Companies of Nigeria
(ATCON) has shifted its flagship seminar and
exhibition event. The new date for NICOMM 2004 is now November 29.

NICOMM 2004 was to hold last Monday but ended up the first casualty of a national stay-at-home strike that kicked off the same morning labour leaders had advised Nigerians to protest a 35% increase in fuel prices.

“This is an act of God,” said ATCON’s President
Charles Joseph after his exco held a brief meeting that morning before the association formally informed the media of its decision.

ATCON had hoped labour and government would reached an agreement over the weekend and delayed plans as at last Friday to tinker with the already advertised dates for the yearly event.

Only empty halls and confused exhibitors were at MUSON centre, venue for the event Monday morning when some hopeful visitors called. The Nigerian Communications Minister Cornelius Adebayo was the first o call. He met no audience and left minutes later after advising organisers to cancel the event for a new date.

When the sector’s regulator Ernest Ndukwe came minutes later, it was already certain that NICOMM had been fallen victim of the national four days strike. The labour union is threatening to extend the strike period beyond four days if government failed to revert to the former old price.

It would be about the third such strike this year over fuel increment. Incidentally, NICOMM 2003 was almost marred by a similar labour strike.
 

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