Plateau workers joined NLC Nationwide protest
By Daniel Agada, Jos
The organized labour unions under the aegis of Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, and Trade Union Congress, TUC, in Plateau state has joined other colleagues nationwide in protesting removal of fuel subsidy and poor policies of president Ahmed Bola Tinubu led administration.
Our correspondent who monitor the protest observed that, the organized labour who dressed in their various union attires, carrying placards with different inscriptions and chanting solidarity songs were seen taken over Secretariat junction flyover, Jos, as early as 7:00am on Wednesday.
Speaking to newsmen,Plateau NLC Chairman, Comrade Eugine Manji revealed “We are here today on a protest embarked upon by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), Academy Staff Union of University (ASUU), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) Student Union Government bodies of various Institutions in Plateau State are in this protest. Plateau State is part of that protest and that is why we are here.
“The protest is because of the poor policies of the government what we’re facing and what we are going to face in the future no body can understand. Now September is close by and I wonder how parents are going pay the school fees of their children, is part of the danger of what we are facing.
“The increase in pump price is another part of it, when we were talking, people thought we are antagonizing government. Shortly before you know we were at N537 and with a skyrocketed moves to N617.
“The economy is driving by foreign policies and we have advised government to look into this by putting measures before the removal of subsidy because this is the consequences we were talking about. People refused to see reason with the position of labour, here we are practically facing.
“What we are saying is that while you removed the subsidy, fix our refineries and refined our petrol and ensure everything is sold in Nigeria naira and kobo, once you buy today you will be rest assured of what price you’re going to buy tomorrow. But because you take the crude oil and refined it in the international market, bringing it and selling it in hard currencies.
“Today the transportation is zero, insecurity in the country you can’t quantify it, we want to out a stop to that, your government should heard the cry of Nigerians we elected them. We are going far with this protest if not you won’t see us here”, Eugene stated.
In another development, the chairman Trade Union Congress, TUC, Plateau State chapter, comrade Kenneth Shamma confirmed it is the first time when Labour Unions came together under one umbrella and protest government harsh policies.
“This is the first time in the history of Unionism where Labour was able to put a chatter of demands with solutions attached to it and we sent our demands to government and we ask them because we gave them a practical and holistic approach in which they can be able to fixed these things.
This rally sincerely when it get to protest the government will feel the heat. We say let the poor breath, how do we go about that? We have very simple template for them to follow it because we know this system and understand the system. The sector I’m coming from is the most very hit by these policies but they’re going behind criticizing this template.
Instead government went behind to obtain Court injunction restraining Labour from going on strike. And we say no problem, we are not going on strike but let everybody who feel he is being suffocated by the policies of the government that want to breath should come out let us protest, is not about NLC or TUC but about Nigerians, let us breath and breath together, this is our country.
