The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), in a statement on Sunday, alleged that the federal government had perfected plans to attack its members that would participate in the scheduled peaceful rallies across the country, but said workers remained resolute, determined and prepared to express their pain and grief in a peaceful manner as Nigerians
A statement signed by NLC President, Joe Ajaero, identified the Nigeria Civil Society Forum (NCSF) as one of the groups being primed to attack the protesters during the peaceful rallies.
The labour movement urged international human rights bodies and the governments of the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN) to note that the right of the people to peacefully protest was being threatened.
Aside the economic hardship, NLC had also cited the federal government’s non-implementation of the agreement reached on palliatives to cushion the effects of the removal of fuel subsidy on workers and the general public.
The statement said, “We would want to inform Nigerians that the state has perfected plans to attack our peaceful rallies across the country. One of the groups being primed to attack our peaceful rallies is by a nebulous name, Nigeria Civil Society Forum (NCSF).
“NCSF is one of the emergency groups put together, funded, promoted and remote-controlled by government to cause violence against our members for electing to peacefully protest against the hunger in the land.
“We would want the state to know that the solution to our horrible economic situation and hunger is not by suppressing peaceful dissent or inflicting violence on peacefully protesting citizens, as the government did in Minna and other cities where its agents tear-gassed and beat up women before locking them up for raising their voice against hunger.
“It does not lie in the deployment of state-sponsored terror. The pangs of hunger cannot be cowed by bullets or tear gas.”
NLC added, “In light of this, we at the NLC and civil society allies are moving ahead with our protest rallies against economic hardship and insecurity in line with the decision of the National Executive Council (NEC).
“As citizens, we have a fundamental right to peaceful protest and history bears us witness that our protests are always peaceful, except in instances of state-engineered violence.”
NLC further advised the Nigerian state to put on its thinking cap and find solutions to the pains it had continued to cause the people instead of further dehumanising them. It stated that if the state was irrevocably set on the path of violence against labour and other peace-loving Nigerians, it would be making a costly mistake.
NLC explained that if the protesting workers were attacked, there would be a total shutdown via withdrawal of services by workers.
It stated, “Let no one be deceived, we and other deprived Nigerians cannot easily be intimidated. Lest those in power now who may have forgotten be reminded, we faced a more resourceful and resilient adversary in order to have democracy.
“All we are saying now is that let there be food for the people, let the people live in safety, let the people live a life of dignity devoid of suffocating IMF/World Bank economic policies.”
NLC reiterated its call on international human rights bodies and the governments of the AU and the UN that the right of the people to peacefully protest and demand for freedom from economic slavery and hardship was being threatened by the Nigerian state.
The union stated, “We, however, remain resolute, determined and prepared to express our pain and grief in a peaceful manner as Nigerians come 27th and 28th of February 2024.”
Emmanuel Addeh, Onyebuchi Ezigbo, Alex Enumah and Sunday Aborisade
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