NLC Protests Against Fuel Subsidy Removal Kicks Off In Osun , Lagos, Abuja Others

The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has commenced its planned protest in Abuja, Lagos, Kano, among other states.

In Osun State : The Protesters thronged the city of Osogbo, capital of Osun State with heavy Security personnel Calling on the government to urgently address issues of economic hardship occasioned by the fuel subsidy removal.

The protest led by members of the Academic Union of Universities (ASUU), Labour Unions – the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), Joint Action Front, and members of the Osun Civil Societies Coalition (OCSC) began from the Nelson Mandela Freedom Park, to Ola-Iya and to major areas of the state capital.

In Lagos: There was heavy security on ground at the Ikeja under-bridge in Lagos as members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) commences nationwide protests over the removal of petrol subsidy.

In Abuja: National President of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, Muhammed Ibrahim, representatives of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, National Union of Road Transport Workers among others are currently gathered at at Unity Fountain, Abuja to protest the increment in fuel prices and failure of the President Bola Tinubu administration to reverse some of the policies which the NLC tagged “unfriendly” and “anti-poor.”

Background:

The labour union had advised the Federal Government to provide enough palliatives that would cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal.

On Monday the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, provided five hundred billion naira, N500bn (half of what the govt saved since the removal of fuel subsidy), as palliatives.

In view of that NLC with the Trade Union Congress, yesterday held a meeting with the Nigerian Government which ended in a deadlock.

NLC insisted that its planned protest against fuel subsidy removal would hold today.

“We’re on the same page, like the TUC national president said. Yeah, we met today (yesterday), and we discussed based on what we all left yesterday, with the mind of coming back today. We all listened to the President’s speech with an appeal that time should be given to this very government.

“We sat down, analysed it very, very well, and we came up with some issues, which I believe you heard from the TUC President where he said the president of this country did mention that within two months, the government of Nigeria was able to save at least N1trillion from subsidy removal”, Deputy President of NLC, Titus Amba said after their meeting yesterday.

However, members of the NLC were seen carrying placards with different inscriptions such as ‘End fuel price increase, Fix local refineries, stop naira devaluation’ etc.

The nationwide protest is to bring to notice the hardship the citizens of Nigerians are passing through to the Nigerian Govement.
Vanguard.