The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has insisted that today’s protest against fuel subsidy removal would hold, as talks with the Federal Government on short-term palliatives collapsed yesterday.
This came as the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, warned that police would not tolerate any violent protest called by the NLC, and Trade Union Congress, TUC.
The Federal Government had, at yesterday’s meeting of Presidential Steering Committee on Palliatives, pleaded with labour to shelve the planned protest, saying it was doing everything possible to address its concerns.
The IGP’s warning came on a day the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, directed its affiliates and the 36 state councils to fully participate in the protest.
This is even as Pro-labour civil society groups, under the aegis of the Joint Action Front, JAF, and Campaign for Democratic Workers Rights, CDWR, asked members across the country to mobilise and join the protest.
Recall that the Nigeria labour Congress, NLC, had earlier directed it affiliates nationwide to also mobilise for the protest scheduled for today
But the IGP said the warning became necessary because of the ugly experiences of such protests in most major cosmopolitan cities in the country in the past.
Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Muyiwa Adejobi, who disclosed the IGP’s warning in a statement issued in Abuja yesterday, said: “The Acting Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, is deeply concerned about recent developments regarding planned nationwide protests by the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and Trade Union Congress, TUC.
“While being mindful of the right to peaceful protest, as enshrined in our constitution, the IGP urges all parties involved to ensure that the planned demonstrations are conducted in a peaceful manner to prevent being hijacked by miscreants.
“The IGP, however, acknowledges the grievances raised by the labour unions and the importance of constructive dialogue, which is sine qua none, in addressing these issues.
“In light of this, the IGP orders the Commissioners of Police in charge of various commands, and supervisory Assistant Inspectors-General of Police, to engage in fruitful discussions with the NLC/TUC leadership to foster understanding and reach common grounds on the planned protests.
But the organised labour said the palliatives rolled out by the President in his nationwide broadcast on Monday night, was very insignificant to cushion the effect of the suffering in the country.
This is as the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Comrade Joe Ajaero was conspicuously absent at the meeting.
The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, specifically said it was going ahead with the proposed national protest on Wednesday.
Briefing State House correspondents at the end of the Presidential Steering Committee on Palliatives held at the State House, Abuja, the Chief of Staf to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, appealed to organised labour to suspend the planned protest.
He said: “We have laid out the plans, the interventions of Mr. President, as you all heard in his broadcast yesterday (Monday), we made it clear that this was just Mr. President’s initial rollout and interventions and that conversations will be ongoing as we go along.
“We appealed to Labour, we did appeal to labour to call off the protests for tomorrow (today). We found listening ears here and they did agree that they all accepted that Mr. President’s broadcast was a welcome development and that they will go back home to talk to the other leaders that are not present today (yesterday). ‘’So we’re hopeful that they will do the right thing and call off the strike tomorrow.”
