The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) confirmed yesterday its willingness to occupy the country’s streets on Wednesday to protest President Bola Tinubu’s elimination of fuel subsidies, maintaining that no one or any court injunction can stop it.
On July 26, Labour issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to rescind all anti-people policies or face a nationwide strike to protest the hardship caused by the abrupt removal of petrol subsidies and the floating of the naira in the market with no palliatives for citizens.
Yesterday, the NLC confirmed that it had intensified mobilisation for nationwide rally following failure of government to respond to its demands. The NLC alleged lack of commitment on the part of the government to uphold the terms of agreements made with it during dialogues to ease the hardships experienced by Nigerians as a result of the removal of the petrol subsidy.
It called on Nigerians to come out en-mass to resist the anti-people policies saying the recent increase in fuel price due to the removal on subsidy had worsened inflation, poverty, unemployment and criminality while the N8,000 palliative to household amounts to an insult.
This is as it replied Federal Government on contempt of court charge over the planned protest, saying it was a right conferred on citizens as enshrined in the nation’s constitution.
NLC President, Joe Ajaero, who spoke with Daily Sun said the protest would go ahead as scheduled. He, however, said labour would continue to honour meetings with government on the issue.
A statement by the NLC secretariat said core labour leaders in the Central Working Committee (CWC) were already in Abuja ahead of Wednesday for full mobilisation of workers in the Federal Territory, Lagos, Kano and Port Harcourt zones.
“More leaders are coming in to ensure the protest is a success. Others have been dispatched to Lagos, Kano and Port Harcourt to ensure that all workers across the states are fully mobilized for Wednesday,” the NLC said.
Speaking in a telephone interview, NLC Deputy General Secretary, Ismail Bello, said Lagos protest would be coordinated by Deputy President, Adewale Adeyanju and Goke Olatunji.
He said the NLC needed to make statement with Wednesday’s protest that Nigerians could no longer be taken for granted by those in government.
He said states under Lagos zone would hold a meeting today to harness their thoughts and programmes that would engage all workers and the masses to participate in the nationwide protest.
“The NLC NEC has ratified the protest and that means we have to step up preparation to ensure the protest is a success. This government has to honour agreement, it is not about promising and no fulfilment and coming up with more policies that continue to push people into poverty,” he said.
NLC spokesperson, Mr. Benson Upah, told Daily Sun that all was set to carry out the nationwide protest and that no court injunction can stop it. “Any court order that operates against the constitution, automatically becomes a nullity. Any court order that runs contrary to the provisions of the constitution is illegal. We are going on a peaceful protest and it is important to explain this. We are not striking; you know there is a difference between a strike action and a protest.”
He said the right to peaceful protest was enshrined in the 1999 constitution, in the African Charter on Fundamental Human Rights as well as the Labour Laws
Upah said the initial issue for which the NLC threatened strike was the increase from N190 to N530 per litre, but, that the matter for which it would be protesting is the increase from N530 to over N600, which the court order did not cover.
“You know the government and the NNPC did not announce that price. They said market forces. So we are protesting against market forces,” he said.
Meanwhile, the NLC has reacted to a contempt of court order served on it. In a letter dated July 28, addressed to the Permanent Secretary/ Solicitor-General, Federal Ministry of Justice, Maitama District, Abuja, FCT, titled “Re-NLC in contempt of court, the NLC solicitor Sam Ogala, said: “In your reaction to the decision of Nigerian workers to participate in peaceful rallies to protest the worsening economic crisis in the country you were reported to have accused the leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress of treating the order of the National Industrial Court with contempt. Contrary to your unwarranted allegation, the Nigeria Labour Congress does not intend to disobey the ex parte order of the National Industrial Court to the effect that “The defendants/Respondents are hereby restrained from embarking on the planned Industrial Action/or strike of any nature, pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice dated 5th June 2023.”
“You will agree with us that the National Industrial Court or any other Court has not grant an order of interim, interlocutory or perpetual injunction restraining Nigerian workers from participating in peaceful rallies convened by the Nigeria Labour Congress. Since the constitutional right of Nigerian workers to protest peacefully cannot by any stretch of imagination be classified as an industrial action or strike of any nature, you ought not have threatened our client with contempt of court.”