NLC threatens nationwide protest over fuel, naira scarcity

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has vowed to stage a protest over the scarcity of fuel and naira notes in the country.

The new NLC President, Joseph Ajaero, made this known while speaking in Abuja on Wednesday.

Ajaero, who was the General Secretary of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), succeeded Comrade Ayuba Wabba who served as National President of the NLC for eight years.

The NLC President, who expressed concern over the level of frustration Nigerians were being made to undergo due to petrol and naira scarcity, vowed to mobilise the members of the union if the government failed to address the issue by the end of next week.

He said: “NLC shall continue in its tradition of ensuring that Nigerians are protected from all anti-people policies and that plunder in governance are reduced to the barest minimum while government is assisted to work for the majority.

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“We shall therefore robustly engage government to stop the impunity and pervasive wickedness currently going on in the country in the name of petroleum product pricing.

“The usurpation and use of state power to impoverish the citizenry abuses the ideals of democracy and destroys the nation.

“Governance ought to provide comfort for the citizenry, so it pains us to witness the increasing frustrations Nigerians have had to go through in the last few months just to fuel their cars and generators, the new phenomenon of black market Naira-buying our own monies at a discount from illegal brokers.

“Governance in Nigeria seems to have broken all known records for bad governance.

“We will definitely not keep quiet in the face of this deliberate defilement of citizenship by the ruling elite as we may mobilise variously across the nation to nudge the government to act more responsibly towards the citizenry and seek ways of alleviating the suffering that currently walks our streets with arrogance.

“We will definitely not keep quiet in the face of this deliberate defilement of citizenship by the ruling elite as we may mobilise variously across the nation to nudge the government to act more responsibly towards the citizenry and seek ways of alleviating the suffering that currently walks our streets with arrogance,” he stated.

Ajaero, however, urged Nigerians to ensure they only vote for candidates with competence and character to protect and secure their lives and welfare during the 2023 general election.

The Star