Nigeria Labour Congress Tuesday made good its plans to embark on a two day protest strike with a march to the National Assembly, where the union handed a list of demands to the Lawmakers.
It was recieved by the Senate Committee on Labour, Employment, and Productivity, chairman Senator Diket Plang. NLC president Joe Ajaero, who led the procession urged the government to take urgent steps to reverse economic woes of the country as Nigeria is speeding towards the inflation ramp that ruin Zimbabwe.
Ajero added: “We thank everyone for making this happen. Today has come to pass. They said we should not be but we are here. We are here because there is hunger in the land. History will not forgive us if we do not protest at the level of hunger in the land. It is to signal to the authorities that there is a problem in the land.”
The NLC listed in its demands to government: generate employment opportunities, fix the country’s four moribund refineries, subsidise farming and boost Agricultural production and full implementation of the welfare provisions.
Some of the placards raised by protesting union members read.
“#End Poverty and Hunger. Support Local Industries#.
” Fix Local Refineries End Subsidy#; #End Naira Devaluation;
“Tax the Rich Subsidise the poor#’
There was also peaceful protests in States capital across the country, with workers calling on government to address the social and economic problem facing the country with some urgency.
Meanwhile reaction to the protests President Bola Tinubu media and publicity adviser Ajuri Ngelale said it was pointless the unions are marching out, since government was already taking steps to remedy the situation.
“Any labour union that is speaking to the concerns of Nigerian families, the pains that are being felt by our people, is absolutely free to do so. It is right that Nigerians speak up in difficult situations,” he said during an Interview on TVC
“And the government has been doing everything possible to alleviate those concerns.
“But we also want to separate the legitimate concerns being expressed by some of the labour unions from people trying to leverage some of the situations in the country to achieve a political agenda.
“We have seen the Trade Union Congress (TUC) pull out of the purported nationwide protest. We have seen the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) pull out of the protest. There is no unanimity behind what NLC is trying to do.
“I believe all of the legitimate concerns being raised by the unions are being tackled by the administration of President Bola Tinubu.”
