The leadership of the organized labor movement on Monday advised President Bola Tinubu to address the impending nationwide protest by engaging in dialogue with its organizers.
Reports indicate that hundreds of Nigerians are mobilizing for a nationwide protest set to take place across all 36 states of the federation.
In response to this development, Joe Ajaero, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), urged President Tinubu to identify and engage with the leaders of the protest to discuss their grievances.
Ajaero specifically called on Tinubu to listen to the concerns of the people, noting that millions of Nigerians are unhappy with the current economic hardship in the country.
The labor leader expressed concern that given the current economic realities, many families are unable to afford even one square meal a day.
“As the date for the widely reported national protest approaches, the Nigeria Labour Congress urges President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to invite the protest leaders for discussions on their grievances,” Ajaero said.
“The truth is that millions of Nigerians are angry about the state of the national economy. A situation where most Nigerian families are forced to eat one miserable meal a day, and where eating from the dustbin is now seen as a luxury, calls for serious government intervention.
“Supporting a recent assessment by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) that established about 133 million Nigerians live below the extreme poverty line, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) reports that in the first three quarters of 2024, about 32 million Nigerians have been exposed to acute hunger.
“When this statistic is added to the millions of unemployed and underemployed Nigerians, one can easily understand the hardship, pain, frustration, and despair that many Nigerians are experiencing right now.”
(DailyTrust)