The Nigeria Labour Congress has commenced mass mobilisation ahead of its planned nationwide strike scheduled to begin Wednesday to protest the hardship occasioned by the fuel subsidy removal.
In a schedule seen by journalists, the NLC urged Nigerians to “join us at the Unity Fountain, Abuja on Wednesday, August 2, 2023, at 7 am.”
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.