The leadership of Nigeria’s Organised Labour on Monday counseled President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to quench the looming nationwide protest before it starts by identifying and dialoguing with the conveners of the planned action as Nigerians are angry.
Under the hashtag #EndBadGovernance, hundreds of Nigerians have been mobilising for a nationwide protest billed to hold across 36 States of the federation to protest the ongoing economic hardship and widespread suffering and hunger in the country.
President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, speaking on the looming protests, charged President Tinubu to listen to the cry of the people, adding that millions of Nigerians were not happy over the hardship in the country.
Ajaero regretted that with the current economic situation in the country, many families cannot afford one square meal in a day.
According to him: “As the date for the widely reported national protest looms, the Nigeria Labour Congress urges President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to invite the leadership of the protest movement for discussions on their grievances.
“The truth is that millions of Nigerians are angry about the state of the national economy. A situation where most Nigerian families are forced to eat one miserable meal a day and eating from the dustbin is now seen as luxury beckons for serious intervention by government.
“Corroborating a recent country living standards index assessment by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) which established that about 133 million Nigerians live below extreme poverty lines, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) posits that in the first three quarters of 2024, about 32 million Nigerians have been exposed to acute hunger.
“When this statistics is added to the millions that are being recruited into the armies of the unemployed and under-employed Nigerians, one can easily situate the hardship, pain, frustrations and despair that many Nigerians are going through right now.”