The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), on Monday, issued a warning against any attempts to suppress Nigerians’ fundamental right to express their views, particularly in the light of the planned nationwide protests.
The NLC instead called on the government to engage the protesters constructively, rather than resorting to measures that could undermine citizens’ rights to voice their grievances.
The labour union also called on President Bola Tinubu to listen to the cries of Nigerians over hunger and widespread hardship in the country.
A section of Nigerians have been mobilised to start nationwide protests on August 1, under the hashtags #TinubuMustGo and #Revolution2024.
The Presidency, however, described such calls as treasonable, as it also accused the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, and his supporters of spreading the hashtags.
In a lengthy tweet published on his X account on Saturday, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, alleged that the sponsors of the protests were not democrats but anarchists.
The NLC, however, said the government should not engage in a “war-war” situation with Nigerians but to negotiate.
In a statement on Monday, the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, said, “As the date for the widely reported national protest looms, the Nigeria Labour Congress urges President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to invite the leadership of the protest movement for discussions on their grievances.
“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 eating from the dustbin beckons for serious intervention by the government.”
