The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has dismissed reports that it has pulled out of the planned nationwide protest over the current economic hardship in the country.
The NLC says it cannot withdraw from a protest that it did not organise.
The protest, scheduled for August 1, is being organised by unidentified individuals and groups, who are mobilising on social media.
President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero, in a statement signed by him on Wednesday, denied reports that the labour union had withdrawn from the protest.
The statement partly read: “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.
He added: “The fact that the Nigeria Labour Congress is not the body organising the protest does not mean that Organised Labour is oblivious to the dire living conditions Nigerians have been subjected to by the harsh economic policies of government.
The NLC President reiterated that it is in “solidarity with the Nigerian people in this very trying and excruciating times.
“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 the government to meet the widespread anger in the land with brute force.
The labour union again appealed to the federal government as well as the governments at the Sub-national levels to listen to the cries of Nigerians over the prevailing economic hardships.
“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.”
Tinubu Appeals to Youths to Shelve Protests
Meanwhile, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday urged Nigerians to give the government more time for economic policies to bear fruit.
The President, who spoke through Minister for Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, appealed to Nigerians for understanding and more time to enable him to tackle the mounting challenges and clear the path to a new lease of life.
Idris conveyed the President’s message while speaking with reporters at the State House in Abuja.
He said President Tinubu was not aloof to the grievances of those planning the protest, adding that he is committed to ensuring a better future for Nigeria.
The minister alluded to the quick passage of the National Minimum Wage Bill by the National Assembly as evidence of President Tinubu’s commitment to swift action.
