…Demands already being addressed, says Fed Govt
The two-day protests over the pains triggered by the various reforms introduced by the government will not continue today, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said last night.
According to the Labour Centre, the “overwhelming success on day one (yesterday)” of the protest was satisfactory.
It, however, said that “nationwide action continues tomorrow with simultaneous press conferences across all the states of the federation by the state councils of the congress, including the national headquarters.”
The NLC made the announcement yesterday in a statement signed by its President, Joe Ajaero and Acting General Secretary, Ismail Bello.
It gave the Federal Government a fresh 14-day ultimatum for the full implementation of the earlier agreement of October 2 last year and other demands presented in its letter of yesterday.
The NLC called workers, its civil society affiliates and state councils out for a nationwide protest against what it called mounting hardship and insecurity across the land.
The protests, which took place in many cities, were peaceful.
The statement reads: “To suspend street action for the second day of the Protest having achieved overwhelming success and thus attained the key objectives of the two-day protest on the first day.
“However, nationwide action continues tomorrow with simultaneous Press Conferences across all the states of the federation by the state councils of the congress including the national headquarters.
“To reaffirm and extend the seven-day ultimatum by another seven days which now expires on the 13th day of March 2024, within which the government is expected to implement all the earlier agreement of the 2nd day of October 2023 and other demands presented in our letter during today’s nationwide protest.
“To meet and decide on further lines of action if, on the expiration of the 14 days, the government refuses to comply with the demands as contained in the ultimatum.
“Once again, NEC recommits the NLC to continuing defending and promoting the interests and desires of Nigerian workers and the downtrodden masses.”
Shortly before the suspension, the Federal Government said it was already attending to the demands of the organised Labour.
It said the protest was not about the agreement it has with the workers, but about hunger in the land.
“This protest is not about the agreement we had with the NLC. The body during our meeting on Sunday agreed that we have performed.
“But they insisted that the protest would go on due to increasing hunger in the land. One of the agenda of Mr. President is food security, Labour and Employment Minister Nkeiruka Onyejeocha.
Onyejeocha, who spoke on national television, explained that the government has fulfilled 90 per cent of the agreement it reached with the organised labour.
She added: “The truth of the matter is that Nigeria and our government are in the planting season; we have performed on the agreements we signed with Labour in October last year.
“We’ve delivered on the wage award and had paid up till January. February has not ended. We have inaugurated a minimum wage committee as agreed.
“For me, Labour is just being Labour and they have to show sympathy to Nigerians that there is hunger in the land.
“ I’m saying that the time we are in is very precarious. This is a time when everybody should show patriotism and everybody should be on the same page.”
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, described the protest as needless.
Ngelale said during a television interview that the Federal Government has already commenced efforts to alleviate the hardship in the country.
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