Joe Ajaero, NLC president
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has begun mass mobilisation ahead of its planned nationwide strike scheduled to commence Wednesday.
The strike was declared by the union to protest the hardship occasioned by the fuel subsidy removal.
In a schedule at the weekend, the NLC urged Nigerians to “join us at the Unity Fountain, Abuja on Wednesday, August 2, 2023, at 7 am.”
It said, “There is nowhere in the world where government leaves its citizens totally to the vagaries of the market without some measure of control and protection. The Federal Government should immediately deal decisively with the criminal content of subsidy instead of exposing ordinary citizens to avoidable pain and hardship.
“As a matter of national importance, it is imperative to fix all our refineries to be able to cater to domestic fuel consumption,” the NLC said.
Speaking further on the recent monetary policies rolled out by the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government, the NLC said, “We are concerned that no government acting reasonably leaves its national currency to forces of the market.”
Insisting on its demands, the union reiterated the need for the government to immediately reverse all “anti-poor policies”, and release the withheld salaries of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, among others.
Ahead of its meeting with the Federal Government scheduled to be held today (Monday) and the nationwide strike scheduled to begin on Wednesday, the NLC said the Tinubu-led administration was playing games with the lives of Nigerians.
The congress also called on the government to take seriously the engagement with the labour unions.
Speaking in an interview with Punch in Abuja on Sunday, the National Treasurer, NLC, Hakeem Ambali, recounted how the government shunned the Friday, July 28, 2023 meeting with labour leaders at the State House.
He further questioned the government’s intentions for approving N70bn as palliatives for members of the National Assembly while it continued to “play games” with labour.
He said, “Government needs to take engagement with Labour seriously. The government’s economic policy had meted untold hardship on Nigerian people and workers’ patience is running out. How can the government approve about N70bn to National Assembly members and about N35bn to the judiciary, those who are very comfortable in terms of salary, and continue to play game with Labour?”
Meanwhile, academic unions, such as the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, have also begun nationwide mobilisation of their members for the strike scheduled to commence on Wednesday.
The national presidents of the two unions, in separate interviews with Punch in Abuja, noted that as affiliate members of the NLC, they would join in the strike.
The National President, SSANU, Muhammed Ibrahim, said, “We are actively going to participate.”
Similarly, the National President of ASUP, Anderson Ezeibe, said, “Of course, we will join the protest.”
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Who needs palliatives, the National Assembly, the judiciary or the the Nigerian people! This is quite incredible, about ₦70bn and ₦35bn. I believe our dearly president can’t ignore the people that voted him to the seat of authority to suffer. He is a man of the people. I also believe our judiciary and the National Assembly members would do something to ease the burden of the masses at this juncture! Are they not representing us again? They should let us know! The masses are indeed suffering. Food items are nothing to write home about, transportation is skyrocket! How wish our leaders are kind enough to visit the markets, board public transport and see what the masses are experiencing, how wish they stop following the fake reports from some of their biased advisers who will say ” the country is fine while there is inferno on the roofs everywhere!
It is high time the government had a second thought to release Nigerians from abject poverty. It will be better they know that one day God will ask of our souls and everyone will account for what he/she has done with the given grace.
God bless Nigeria!