NLC insists on protest despite ongoing talks with Fed Govt

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) yesterday threatened to embark on a nationwide protest as from tomorrow.

NLC President Joe Ajaero, who addressed reporters after a meeting of the Presidential Steering Committee on Palliatives at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, said the plan for a peaceful protest had not changed.

The meeting adjourned till noon today to continue discussions on how to ameliorate the harsh effects of the removal of fuel subsidy. The adjournment was meant to allow all parties have time to listen to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s broadcast.

Ajaero dismissed fears that the protest could be hijacked by hoodlums, saying such had never happened in the history of workers’ protests.

He said it is the responsibility of security agencies to provide security for workers during a protest.

Reacting to the President’s plan to intervene on the exchange rate over inflation and high cost of gasoline prices, Ajaero said: “By the time you have a single market and you are not having anything that has a comparative advantage, your energy is import-driven, then, how are you going to control it? How are you going to control somebody that exchanged the dollar at about N900? Are you going to tell him to sell below the price?

“How are you going to tell even NEPA today, with the cost of production, not to increase tariff? Even the corn in the villages that was sold at N18,000 by February is about N56,000. How are you going to control it?”

But the Chief of Staff to the President, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, said some issues were settled during the closed-door meeting.

He also said the government was dealing with oil cabals that have brought the economy to its knees.

Gbajabiamila said: “We have been locked behind for a couple of hours. We had a good meeting. Issues were thrashed out on the situation in Nigeria today in terms of issues on government intervention on the situation in the country.

“We agreed to adjourn till tomorrow. As you know, Mr. President is making a national broadcast today. Based on what we anticipate that Mr. President will be telling Nigerians, we decided to adjourn the meeting till 12 p.m tomorrow (today) before labour can decide whether or not they want to continue with the protest on Wednesday.

“But we believe that after tonight’s broadcast, the President will speak to all the issues. He will roll out his interventions and, needless to say, we believe any reasonable person will tell you such at that point. There will be no need for any protest.”

On why the government did not roll out palliatives before announcing the stoppage of petrol subsidy, the Gbajabiamila said the previous government did not budget for subsidy and that President Tinubu was rolling out palliatives to cushion its effect on the people.

Asked whether the oil cabals are more powerful than the security agencies and government, he said: “Yes, they are, and that’s what government is dealing with. First of all, remove the subsidy. That’s the first step.”

Also, National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu pleaded with the organised labour to give the administration a little chance to fix the battered economy.

He said President Tinubu inherited a bad economy, which he is working hard to fix.