The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) clarified that it is not responsible for the upcoming nationwide protest against hunger scheduled to start on August 1.
Joe Ajaero, the president of the NLC, stated on Wednesday that reports of the congress withdrawing from the protest are untrue. He emphasized that the NLC cannot withdraw from an event it did not initiate.
“A news report of the withdrawal of the Nigeria Labour Congress from the widely discussed national protest has been brought to our attention. The Nigeria Labour Congress debunks such a story as patently false,” Ajaero asserted.
He further explained, “The truth is that the Nigeria Labour Congress cannot withdraw from a protest that it did not organise. It is only the organisers of the speculated national protest who can decide to pull out or continue with the protest.”
Ajaero urged the government to engage with the protest leaders and cautioned against using force to suppress public dissatisfaction: “The fact that the Nigeria Labour Congress is not the body organising the protest does not mean that Organised Labour is oblivious to the dire living conditions Nigerians have been subjected to by the harsh economic policies of government.”
He added, “We have called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to invite the leaders of the protest movement to dialogue on their demands. We have advised that it would be counter-productive for the government to meet the widespread anger in the land with brute force.”
In conclusion, Ajaero appealed, “Once again, we implore the Federal Government and the sub-national governments to listen to the cries of the Nigerian people and do the needful. After all, it is said that the voice of the people is the voice of God.”
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