THE Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has insisted that today’s protest against fuel subsidy removal would hold, as talks with the Federal Government on short-term palliatives collapsed yesterday.
This came as the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, warned that police would not tolerate any violent protest called by the NLC, and Trade Union Congress, TUC.
The Federal Government had, at yesterday’s meeting of Presidential Steering Committee on Palliatives, pleaded with labour to shelve the planned protest, saying it was doing everything possible to address its concerns.
The IGP’s warning came on a day the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, directed its affiliates and the 36 state councils to fully participate in the protest.
This is even as Pro-labour civil society groups, under the aegis of the Joint Action Front, JAF, and Campaign for Democratic Workers Rights, CDWR, asked members across the country to mobilise and join the protest.
Recall that the Nigeria labour Congress, NLC, had earlier directed it affiliates nationwide to also mobilise for the protest scheduled for today.
But the IGP said the warning became necessary because of the ugly experiences of such protests in most major cosmopolitan cities in the country in the past.
Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Muyiwa Adejobi, who disclosed the IGP’s warning in a statement issued in Abuja yesterday, said the Acting Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, is deeply concerned about recent developments regarding planned nationwide protests by the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and Trade Union Congress, TUC.
While being mindful of the right to peaceful protest, as enshrined in our constitution, the IGP urges all parties involved to ensure that the planned demonstrations are conducted in a peaceful manner to prevent being hijacked by miscreants.
The IGP, however, acknowledges the grievances raised by the labour unions and the importance of constructive dialogue, which is sine qua none, in addressing these issues.
In light of this, the IGP orders the Commissioners of Police in charge of various commands, and supervisory Assistant Inspectors-General of Police, to engage in fruitful discussions with the NLC/TUC leadership to foster understanding and reach common grounds on the planned protests.
The IGP’s warning notwithstanding, the federal government pleaded with organised labour to suspend the proposed strike, saying it was doing everything to ensure the hardship occasioned by the petrol subsidy removal was sorted out.
However, the NLC, led by its Deputy President, Comrade Titus Amba, said there was nothing new, apart from the broadcast of President Bola Tinubu, that was presented to the committee, adding that the palliatives as rolled out by the President in his broadcast could not remedy anything.
Briefing journalists on the outcome of the meeting, the TUC President, Festus Osifo said we told Nigerians that we’ll be meeting today (yesterday) by 12 noon, so we came here much later. We had the conversation, and again the government team told us that what the President has put on the table is more or less like a starting point, and it’s a baseline.
The Deputy President of NLC, Titus Amba, when asked whether the proposed protest will still hold today, he answered in the affirmative.
He told journalists we are on the same page, like the TUC national president said, we met today (yesterday), and we discussed based on what we all left yesterday, with the mind of coming back today. We all listened to the President’s speech with an appeal that time should be given to this very government.
Meanwhile, mobilisation for the protest continued yesterday, the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, directed its affiliates and the 36 state councils to fully participate in the protest.
Similarly, Pro-labour civil society groups under the aegis of the Joint Action Front, JAF and Campaign for Democratic Workers Rights, CDWR, also directed members across the country to mobilise and join the protest.
Recall that Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, had last week directed its affiliates and 36 state councils including the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, to mobilize civil society allies, market women, traders, artisans and informal sector workers among other Nigerians for the mass protest from today.
Already, Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, MWUN, has asked workers in all port formations, including jetties across the country, to actively participate in the protest.
TUC in a statement by the President and Secretary General, Festus Osifo and Nuhu Toro, respectively, directed all its state councils in the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, to mobilise for the protest against what it described as draconian policies of the Federal Government.
On its part, the Joint Action Front, JAF, has equally directed all members nationwide to join the protest.
Already JAF members in Kano State, yesterday, trooped into the ancient city to protest perceived anti-poor’s policies of the Federal Government, including the removal of subsidy on petrol.
JAF in a statement by Achike Chude said JAF supports the decision of the NLC to call Nigerian workers and poor masses out on protest, starting from Wednesday, August 2, 2023, (today) against the wicked and neoliberal policies of the President Tinubu’s government, including, the severe hike in the price of petrol and devaluation of the naira.
JAF urges unity of the NLC and the TUC in their engagement with the Federal Government and encourages them to jointly mobilize for the Wednesday August 2nd mass action. We call on the Nigerian working people and youth to see the August 2nd date as the beginning of nationwide resistance against fuel price hike and other anti-poor policies.
Similarly, CDWR in a statement by Rufus Olusesan and Chinedu Bosah, national chairperson and National Publicity Secretary, respectively, said we are fully in support of the mass protest called by the NLC to begin on Wednesday (today).
‘’It is high-time mass actions, including a general strike, began to respond to the barrage of attacks on the living standards of already pauperized Nigerian workers and the poor masses.
Nigeria is too rich in human and material resources to become a country with one of the highest numbers of poor people; the problem, however, is the massive exploitation and looting by a few capitalists, in connivance with IMF, World Bank and multinational companies.
Replying to the IGP yesterday, NLC advised the Police hierarchy to ensure there was no violence as Organized Labour and its allies begin mass protests today over the harsh economic policies of the Federal Government, saying it was the constitutional responsibility of the police to protect lives and property.
Responding to the Inspector General of Police, IGP’s threat that the force would not tolerate any form of violence during the protest nationwide, a senior officer of NLC, said we in Organized Labour are law-abiding and decent leaders who do not believe in violence.
It is the constitutional responsibility of the police to protect the lives of Nigerians and their property anywhere in the country, whether in the place of worship, at work, in the school, on the street, at home and other public and private places.
We advise the IGP not to allow himself to be used to unleash mayhem on innocent Nigerians who are paying his salary and other benefits to give him the comfort he now found himself.
