APA – Lagos (Nigeria)
The Organised Labour, led by officials the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress on Wednesday began a nationwide protest against the “anti-people” policies of the new administration of President Bola Tinubu.
The President of the NLC, Mr. Joe Ajaero, is leading the protests at the Unity Fountain in Abuja, which is attended by hundreds of protesters.
The NLC President is accompanied by officials of the affiliated unions like the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), the National Union of Electricity Employees of Nigeria (NUEE), National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
According to local media reports on Wednesday, there are large crowds of protesters in Lagos, Ondo, Ogun, Osun, Edo, Abia Imo and Cross River in southern Nigeria and there are also protests in Kaduna, Plateau, Kano in northern Nigeria.
Addressing the protesters in Abuja, the former NLC President, Mr. Ayuba Wabba, said that the policies and palliatives announced by the government would not adequately address the challenges being faced by Nigerians.
He warned that the price of petrol would continue to increase unless the issue of local refining of petroleum products is urgently addressed by fixing the refineries.
In his address, Mr. Ajaero stated that the APC-led government has failed to address the real issues affecting the people of Nigeria and warned that the protests would continue until the government responded adequately to the demands of the Organised Labour.
Some of the demands of the Organised Labour include the removal of fuel subsidy without adequate consultations and palliatives to cushion the effects of such removal on the people, increases in fees charged in public school and the delay in the payment of the salaries of university teachers and workers, failure to raise the minimum wage among others
It would be recalled that President Tinubu had on Monday, July 31, 2023 addressed the nation in an attempt to preempt the protest, promising to review workers’ salaries and minimum wage, as well as providing palliatives for the manufacturing sector.
But the officials of the NLC have described the measures announced by President Tinubu in the broadcast as inadequate to address the current economic hardships faced by Nigerians.
They have therefore called for immediate policy reversals to alleviate the burden on millions of Nigerians who are struggling to breathe.
GIK/APA
Nigerians protest against anti-people policies of government
