The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has refuted claims that it has withdrawn from a proposed national protest over rising hunger and living costs. The NLC emphasized that it cannot step back from a protest it did not organize.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, NLC President Comrade Joe Ajaero clarified the organization’s position. He urged both the federal and state governments to address the pleas of struggling Nigerians. The statement highlighted the urgent need for the government to engage in dialogue with the protest’s organizers rather than resorting to force.
Ajaero’s statement, titled “The Nigeria Labour Congress cannot withdraw from a protest that it did not organise,” reads in part:
“A news report of the withdrawal of the Nigeria Labour Congress from the widely discussed national protest has been brought to our attention. The Nigeria Labour Congress debunks such story as patently false.
“The truth is that the Nigeria Labour Congress cannot withdraw from a protest that it did not organise. It is only the organisers of the speculated national protest that can decide to pull out or continue with the protest.
“The Nigeria Labour Congress has internal trade union mechanisms especially leadership decision-making processes that its industrial actions such as protests pass through before such activities are undertaken.
“Yet, the fact that the Nigeria Labour Congress is not the body organising the protest does not mean that Organised Labour is oblivious of the dire living conditions Nigerians have been subjected to by the harsh economic policies of government.
“The Nigeria Labour Congress stands in solidarity with the Nigerian people in this very trying and excruciating times.
“Pursuant to proactive engagement with the issues canvassed by the protest organisers, we have called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to invite the leaders of the protest movement to dialogue on their demands.
“We have advised that it would be counter-productive for government to meet the widespread anger in the land with brute force.
“Once again, we implore the Federal Government and the sub-national governments to listen to the cries of the Nigerian people and do the needful. After all, it is said that the voice of the people is the voice of God.”
