Several groups in Nigeria have declared their intention to join the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to hit the streets tomorrow, Wednesday, to protest the hardship in Africa’s largest economy occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidies.
The NLC, last Sunday, in a statement, urged Nigerians to join them at the Unity Fountain, Abuja, on Wednesday, August 2, 2023, at 7 am to protest President Bola Tinubu’s removal of fuel subsidy.
“There is nowhere in the world where government leaves its citizens totally to the vagaries of the market without some measure of control and protection. The Federal Government should immediately deal decisively with the criminal content of subsidy instead of exposing ordinary citizens to avoidable pain and hardship.
“As a matter of national importance, it is imperative to fix all our refineries to be able to cater to domestic fuel consumption,” the NLC said.
The NLC said the Tinubu-led administration was playing games with the lives of Nigerians.
The congress also called on the government to be serious about the engagement with labour unions.
Meanwhile, academic unions such as the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities have also begun nationwide mobilisation of their members for the strike scheduled to commence on Wednesday.
The national presidents of the two unions, in separate interviews with local media in Abuja, noted that as affiliate members of the NLC, they would join in the strike.
The National President of SSANU, Muhammed Ibrahim said, “We are actively going to participate.”
Similarly, the National President of ASUP, Anderson Ezeibe said, “Of course, we will join the protest.”
Also, some northern youths, under the aegis of the Arewa Citizen Watch for Good Governance, on Sunday, said they were set to hit the streets of Abuja to protest the subsidy removal, which, they said, had inflicted pains and hunger on them.
The youths also called for the sacking of the Group’s Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian National Petroleum Limited, Mele Kyari, for allegedly misleading the President on the subsidy removal.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com