The National Labour Congress (NLC) has declared that its strike scheduled to commence in seven days is aimed at liberating Nigerians from the shackles of government policies, which have caused the citizens pains.
The planned strike is coming after an earlier seven-day ultimatum by the NLC to President Bola Tinubu asking his government to reverse “all anti-poor” policies, including the hike in the price of petrol.
Moments later, the NLC president Joe Ajaero made an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, during which he noted that the union is still analysing the situation with the possibility that the government policy could further plague the already dire conditions.
“The situation would be worsened. It is rather a move to rescue Nigerians, to see whether the government can show some level of empathy for us to do things differently to enable Nigerians to survive,” he said.
President Bola Tinubu, in his May 29 inaugural address, declared that “fuel subsidy is gone”.
The policy led to an instant hike in fuel prices from around N185 to N500, and up to N617 last week. With rising transportation costs and food prices, thousands of Nigerians have resorted to trekking long distances.
The NLC president argued that the imminent industrial action is to reduce the impact the government’s policies have had on the people.
“It can’t get worse than it is today. The impact we are talking of is either the impact on commodities or the impact on the people,” Ajaero said.
“What we are resisting, what we are fighting against, is the impact on the people and the impact is so much. It is worse.”
He bemoaned that policies laid down by the government that ought to be advantageous to the economy were biting hard on the people.
“I don’t know what other consideration one can look at, every government policy in a nation is aimed at benefiting the nation,” the labour leader lamented.
“The naira is gone, economic activity is gone, foodstuff gone. (In terms of) movement, you can’t move, and transportation is gone.”
According to a communiqué issued at the end of its Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting held on Tuesday, the NLC threatened to embark on a total and indefinite strike starting Wednesday, August 2, 2023, in the event that the Federal government fails to do the needful.