Abuja: The leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has drew the attention President Bola Tinubu to invite the organizers of planned hunger/Hardship nationwide protest, asking him to also address the challenges facing the populace
Comrade Joe Ajaero , the national workers union chairman on Monday call on the president Bola Tinubu to invite and have a round table meeting with the leaders of the plan protest,and tackle their grievances as the date for the widely reported national protest schedule for August draw closer.
Ajaero in his assertion said with the hike in prices of food, fuel and electricity tariff couple with inflation rate of about 33.19 percent as released by the National bureau for statistics (NBS), the Labour chief said there is urgent need for the president to engage with the youth to address these challenges.
”That is why portraying the daily brutal torture that Nigerians experience as a sponsored type of political disagreement is condescending and ignorant. If that is the case, then it still falls within the limits of citizens’ rights to participate in political protest. Just that political reason is not necessary for sparking or fuel the nation’s current chaos, according to Ajaero.
The NLC chairman, continued by saying that all the angry youths needed now is a concerned heart and a listening ear from the government Apparently,it is what the protest planners are hoping for, given on their continuous postings on various social media platforms.
He faulted what he described as the “hostility” of the Nigerian government toward the planned protest, saying it does not “offer any tangible solution either to the pain endured by the populace or the frustrations of having so little in a country where a few privileged persons are living in obscene luxury, especially at the expense of the majority. These are dire times. Nigerians are angry”.
“The times require the government talking not singing war songs with Nigerians. The truth is that you cannot smack a child and at the same time ask the child not to cry,” he said
In the same vain, Senator Ali Ndume wants President Bola Tinubu to address Nigerians especially the Youth over the planned nationwide protest on economic hardship and hunger using dialogue.
Ndume gave the advice on Monday ahead of the planned protest billed for August 1 across the country.
According to the demoted chief of the 10th senate ,talking with the organizers who are mostly youths would help in dousing the tension and avert the planned demonstrations.
“I think the President should talk to Nigerians, talk to the youths,” the lawmaker who represents Borno South said on Monday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today.
