Nationwide Hardship Protest Day 1: Labour Insists Protest Will Go On, Mobilization Ongoing

… Meeting with FG Ends in Deadlock

Editor

Day one of the well-publicised nationwide strike begins today, Tuesday, February 26. The leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress NLC, is talking tough, insisting the protest will go on as planned across the country. The protest is occasioned by the current economic hardship facing majority of Nigerians.

As of yesterday, Monday, February 26, mass mobilization of activists, supporters and sympathizers was observed by Africa Health Report in Abuja.

In last-minute efforts to prevent the protest, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, had invited Labour leaders to his office.

The meeting between representatives of the Federal Government and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has ended in stalemate.

As the meeting progressed, the labour leaders took a break from where they broke into another meeting  for consultation.

At the end, NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, said despite the intervention to avert the nationwide protests, it would go on as scheduled. However, Ajaero urged the security agents to protect the protesters.

Fielding questions the NLC President said “I would say despite the warning from the DSS, the rally goes on, but it is part of their (security agencies) constitutional responsibility to make sure that the rally is peaceful.

“And while we are going to try our own side to make sure it’s a peaceful rally, that’s all.”

Africa Health Report can confirm that at the meeting that government officials appealed to the labour leaders to shelve the protests because it may lead to breakdown or law and order.

Those who joined the SGF at the meeting were; Ministers of Agriculture; budget and national planning; Labour and Employment; Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Head of Service of the Federation, as well as the Director General of the Department of State Service (DSS).

On Monday, pockets of protests had broken out in Kano, Niger, Oyo, Edo, Lagos, Kano, Sokoto, Borno and Osun, among other states, with protesters urging the government to take decisive steps to bring the hardship to an end.

The government said isolated protests in some states were nearly hijacked by hoodlums before the security agents curtailed the situation.

Labour had declared a two-day nationwide protest for February 27 and 28 after government failed to implement some of the agreements reached with the congress.

Answering another question, Ajaero said, “Usually, there is no rally that we just do for the sake of walking around. We have demands that we present. Maybe by Tuesday when we present these demands, a copy of it will be made public.”