The Nigerian Labour Congress, led by it’s President, Comrade Joe Ajaero marched in protest from Labour House Abuja to the National Assembly where he presented a letter containing the demands of workers to the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Labour, Employment and Productivity, Senator Diket Plang, for onward delivery to President Bola Tinubu.
During the NLC president’s address at the National Assembly, he said Nigerians embarked on the peaceful protest because there was hunger in the land, adding that Nigeria was becoming like Zimbabwe.
Comrade Ajaero said, “We are here today because there is hunger in the land. In the last week, it was a struggle for us to come to the street but we are here today.
‘’History will not forgive us if we do not protest today and tell the government that there is hunger in the land. It is important to note that this is not just a symbolic rally but it is a rally to signal to the people in authority that there is a problem in the land. People are dying of hunger, and banditry, among others.
“We are going to present a letter to the National Assembly for onward transmission to the President. We were here a few months back and we presented a letter. Unfortunately, those demands have not been addressed.
“We want to remind our representatives that we do not bring letters for the fun of it. Rather, actions can be taken with immediate effect. If we give you this letter and you don’t take action on it, then we will resort to self-help.’’
The NLC President also said, “A bag of rice is over N70,000 whereas, the minimum wage is N30,000. How long will Nigerians continue to suffer? We cannot pay school fees with N30,000 minimum wage. Let the poor eat. The currencies of Cameroon, Benin Republic, and Niger Republic, are higher than Nigeria’s because of the devaluation of naira.’’
Senator Plang, who received the letter on behalf of the president, assured the NLC that its demands would be attended to immediately.
He stated, “We understand you. We feel what you feel. We want to assure you that this letter will be discussed immediately at the plenary session.’’
Plang who also addressed journalists after the protest, assured that the leadership of the National Assembly was working to address the plight of Nigerians.
Among the demands presented by Labour to the National Assembly are, full implementation of the welfare provisions as contained in chapter two of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) by making the provisions justiciable; employment generation through massive investment in agriculture and value-added manufacturing and Immediate subsidy to farmers to boost agricultural production and food security.
The protesters also called on the government to open all food storage silos and enforce equitable distribution across the country, fix abandoned factories, and revive local production and patronage of Made-in-Nigeria goods and services.
