Talks fail, NLC insists on protests

THE Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has insisted that today’s protest against fuel subsidy removal would hold, as talks with the Federal Government on short-term palliatives collapsed yesterday.

This came as the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, warned that police would not tolerate any violent protest called by the NLC, and Trade Union Congress, TUC.

The Federal Government had, at yesterday’s meeting of Presidential Steering Committee on Palliatives, pleaded with labour to shelve the planned protest, saying it was doing everything possible to address its concerns.

The IGP’s warning came on a day the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, directed its affiliates and the 36 state councils to fully participate in the protest.

This is even as Pro-labour civil society groups, under the aegis of the Joint Action Front, JAF, and Campaign for Democratic Workers Rights, CDWR, asked members across the country to mobilise and join the protest.

Recall that the Nigeria labour Congress, NLC, had earlier directed it affiliates nationwide to also mobilise for the protest scheduled for today

But the IGP said the warning became necessary because of the ugly experiences of such protests in most major cosmopolitan cities in the country in the past.

Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Muyiwa Adejobi, who disclosed the IGP’s warning in a statement issued in Abuja yesterday, said: “The Acting Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, is deeply concerned about recent developments regarding planned nationwide protests by the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and Trade Union Congress, TUC.

“While being mindful of the right to peaceful protest, as enshrined in our constitution, the IGP urges all parties involved to ensure that the planned demonstrations are conducted in a peaceful manner to prevent being hijacked by miscreants.

“The IGP, however, acknowledges the grievances raised by the labour unions and the importance of constructive dialogue, which is sine qua none, in addressing these issues.

“In light of this, the IGP orders the Commissioners of Police in charge of various commands, and supervisory Assistant Inspectors-General of Police, to engage in fruitful discussions with the NLC/TUC leadership to foster understanding and reach common grounds on the planned protests.

“A peaceful and coordinated approach is crucial to achieving meaningful solutions and preventing any form of violence or disruptions to public order, should the protests persist.

“The Nigeria Police Force reiterates its commitment to ensuring the safety and security of all citizens during the period of the planned protests as all necessary measures to facilitate the peaceful conduct of these demonstrations have been emplaced.

“However, it is hereby reaffirmed that any attempt by miscreants to exploit the situation for violent purposes viz-a-viz vandalism, gangsterism, and extortion will be met with firm, professional and commensurate lawful approach.

“The Police will not tolerate any act that threatens the peace and well-being of our country. In the light of the potential challenges posed by the planned protests, the Nigeria Police Force is fully prepared to deploy all available resources to maintain law and order and to protect the lives and property of our citizens.

“The IGP, therefore, calls on all officers to be vigilant, professional, and uphold the highest standards of conduct during this period.

“The Police boss urges all stakeholders, including the NLC, TUC, and other civil society groups, to embrace peaceful dialogue as the most effective means of resolving grievances

“He also re-emphasized that the Police is committed to ensuring a secure and conducive environment for open dialogue, constructive engagement and mutaul understanding for a seamless exercise of civil rights.”

FG appeals to labour to suspend protest
The IGP’s warning notwithstanding, the federal government pleaded with organised labour to suspend the proposed strike, saying it was doing everything to ensure the hardship occasioned by the petrol subsidy removal was sorted out.

But the organised labour said the palliatives rolled out by the President in his nationwide broadcast on Monday night, was very insignificant to cushion the effect of the suffering in the country.
This is as the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Comrade Joe Ajaero was conspicuously absent at the meeting.

The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, specifically said it was going ahead with the proposed national protest on Wednesday.

Briefing State House correspondents at the end of the Presidential Steering Committee on Palliatives held at the State House, Abuja, the Chief of Staf to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, appealed to organised labour to suspend the planned protest.

He said: “We have laid out the plans, the interventions of Mr. President, as you all heard in his broadcast yesterday (Monday), we made it clear that this was just Mr. President’s initial rollout and interventions and that conversations will be ongoing as we go along.

“We appealed to Labour, we did appeal to labour to call off the protests for tomorrow (today). We found listening ears here and they did agree that they all accepted that Mr. President’s broadcast was a welcome development and that they will go back home to talk to the other leaders that are not present today (yesterday). ‘’So we’re hopeful that they will do the right thing and call off the strike tomorrow.”

However, the NLC, led by its Deputy President, Comrade Titus Amba, said there was nothing new, apart from the broadcast of President Bola Tinubu, that was presented to the committee, adding that the palliatives as rolled out by the President in his broadcast could not remedy anything.

Briefing journalists on the outcome of the meeting, the TUC President, Festus Osifo said: “We told Nigerians that we’ll be meeting today (yesterday) by 12 noon, so we came here much later. We had the conversation, and again the government team told us that what the President has put on the table is more or less like a starting point, and it’s a baseline.

“So we on our path also said yes, that we would have been surprised if that is everything that will be put forward because for us, we felt there are some gaps. For us, we felt that the President has said that N1 trillion has been saved in the last two months, that what has been proposed is not far-reaching.

“For us, you know, as part of the principle of negotiations, when anything is put on the table, you accept, but you push for more. So, on our part, we said what has been put on the table is not sufficient, it’s not enough, and that they can do more.

“So part of what we put forward was that, we will look at those things the President highlighted. We think, for example, that 3000 CNG buses are not sufficient, we think it is not sufficient. By the time you divide 3000 by 37, you can see how many they can come up to, so it’s not sufficient, it’s grossly inadequate.

“We also think that some of the measures put on the table are not far-reaching. So we are also going to demand for what we think will do, so if we think 30,000 buses could do it or 40,000 buses could do it in the immediate.

“Yes, we’ll push it forward. So those were all the conversations that we had. Then on the government part, they also appealed that we should shelve the protests. Our response was that we are going to go back this evening (yesterday) and also have a conversation around that and you will hear from us at the end of that conversation.

Asked the position of labour on minimum wage increase, Osifo said: “On our part, what we’re demanding was wage award. For example, you’ve heard some states that have said we’re paying N40,000 minimum wage, so more or less they are the ones giving it. It is not the law, they are doing above the minimum wage.

‘’So for us, we felt the federal government could on their own, do above the minimum wage without much conversation, because the committee on the minimum wage has not been constituted.

“But what we have been advocating on the part of labour is wage award that doesn’t have bureaucracies, that doesn’t have much issues around the law, because the law that prescribed minimum wage said five years.

“Until you amend that, no other thing can kick in. But we said for the immediate, let government come out just as some state governments have announced that paying N40,000. Some say N50,000, so they should do something like that.

“We have also heard some state say that they are going to pay PMS allowance of XYZ amount. So those are the wage awards that we are thinking and we are pushing governments to do. What they have proposed like you have heard the President say yesterday, we are taking that as a baseline. We believe strongly that the President, the state governments should do more.”

Protest ‘ll hold, NLC insists
On his part, the Deputy President of NLC, Titus Amba, when asked whether the proposed protest will still hold today, he answered in the affirmative.

He told journalists: “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.

“To the ordinary Nigerian out there, he will conclude that there are a lot of funds kept because of this subsidy issue. So why can’t this monies be made available to cushion the suffering and yearning of all Nigerians. So these were some of the things we discussed.

“We also said the 3000 buses proposed to be made available are not sufficient. If you divide 3,000 by the number of states we have, it won’t take us anywhere. So, the government came with an appeal of shifting the intended protest tomorrow. “

On the plea for the suspension of the protest, he said: “We said no, it is not something we can discuss here, because we have other organs of the union that we have to go back to for them to look at it critically.

‘’The truth is that every Nigerian out there is boiling and waiting to see what will come out of this very meeting.

“We had to go back and maybe make a presentation to them that this is what the government has said and this is what we’re thinking, how we should go about it. So this is the decision we have now.”
Asked if the protest still would hold, he simply said “Yes, of course.”

On the absence of the NLC President, Comrade Amba said “he is indisposed to be sincere.”

TUC mobilises affiliates, others
Meanwhile, mobilisation for the protest continued yesterday, the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, directed its affiliates and the 36 state councils to fully participate in the protest.

Similarly, Pro-labour civil society groups under the aegis of the Joint Action Front, JAF and Campaign for Democratic Workers Rights, CDWR, also directed members across the country to mobilise and join the protest.
Recall that Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, had last week directed its affiliates and 36 state councils including the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, to mobilize civil society allies, market women, traders, artisans and informal sector workers among other Nigerians for the mass protest from today.

Already, Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, MWUN, has asked workers in all port formations, including jetties across the country, to actively participate in the protest.

TUC in a statement by the President and Secretary General, Festus Osifo and Nuhu Toro, respectively, directed all its state councils in the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, to mobilise for the protest against what it described as draconian policies of the Federal Government.

While lamenting the hardship the recent removal of subsidy on petrol had inflicted on Nigerians and that though TUC was not averse to the removal of subsidy, the union insisted that measures ought to have been in place to ameliorate its effect on Nigerians before the removal.

The statement read: “Such measures include fixing of the refineries and possibly building more, functional transportation system, living wage, good medical facilities and employment. The policy was not thought through, which is why its impact is excruciating on Nigerians.

‘’Sadly, when Nigerians cried out, the Federal Government proposed a paltry N8,000 for poor families without details on the mode of payment. Annoyingly also, the same government is giving a whopping N70 billion to 469 lawmakers and N39 billion to the judiciary. Injustice and impunity cannot be tolerated.

“Three days ago, organized labour (TUC/NLC) was at the Villa for a meeting with the Federal Government to discuss further the palliatives but the government boycotted the meeting, slowing down the negotiation process. Nigerians are dying and we cannot afford to keep quiet any longer.

“The Federal Government must realise that governance goes beyond the declaration of emergency on food security. It is time to swing into action to avert starvation in the land. The government promised to attract investors when they win elections which we have not seen.

‘’The government should get investors, create more decent jobs and provide an enabling environment for investment in terms of security and others. It is when more people get employed that taxes can be paid and governments will make more money.

“The exchange rate is abysmally high and stifling businesses. This has affected the cost of production and the inflation rate. Naira should not be in a free fall. No country allows that. Nigeria is dollar-dependent and our only major source of forex is oil and painfully, we cannot refine our crude locally. ‘’The Federal Government has failed to manage its forex well and it is taking a toll on the pockets of Nigerians.

Government must come up with good monetary policies that will help investments and also empower the naira.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration has said that so far, the sum of N1trillion has been saved from the removal of subsidy in two months. If they knew the country would save that much within two months, why then borrow the sum $800million World Bank facility?

‘’It shows improper planning or it could also be that some people somewhere took advantage of the situation to rip-off the country.

“All affiliates and state councils of congress are, hereby, directed to mobilise their members for action by midnight of today, 1st August, 2023.”

JAF mobilises members
On its part, the Joint Action Front, JAF, has equally directed all members nationwide to join the protest.
Already JAF members in Kano State, yesterday, trooped into the ancient city to protest perceived anti-poor’s policies of the Federal Government, including the removal of subsidy on petrol.

JAF in a statement by Achike Chude said: “JAF supports the decision of the NLC to call Nigerian workers and poor masses out on protest, starting from Wednesday, August 2, 2023, (today) against the wicked and neoliberal policies of the President Tinubu’s government, including, the severe hike in the price of petrol and devaluation of the naira.

“JAF urges unity of the NLC and the TUC in their engagement with the Federal Government and encourages them to jointly mobilize for the Wednesday August 2nd mass action. We call on the Nigerian working people and youth to see the August 2nd date as the beginning of nationwide resistance against fuel price hike and other anti-poor policies.

“We call on the Nigerian working people, the poor masses and youth to prepare for mass action on Wednesday (today) by organizing democratically-constituted action committees in their workplaces, communities and campuses.

‘’We agree that the minimum aim of the forthcoming struggle is reversal of the criminal hike of petrol from N617 to N195, reversal of other criminal policies like fee hike in public tertiary institutions, devaluation of the naira, which has added to the untold hardships the people are facing from fuel price hike, and rejection of the planned electricity tariff increase.

‘’Others include meeting of demands of doctors, other health workers, education workers like ASUU and all other unions, adequate funding of public education, payment of all owed salaries and pension and the signing of a new National Minimum wage agreement to save working people from penury.”

CDWR backs protest
Similarly, CDWR in a statement by Rufus Olusesan and Chinedu Bosah, national chairperson and National Publicity Secretary, respectively, said: “We fully support the mass protest called by the NLC to begin on Wednesday (today).

‘’It is high-time mass actions, including a general strike, began to respond to the barrage of attacks on the living standards of already pauperized Nigerian workers and the poor masses.

“By virtue of the removal of petrol subsidy, hike in school fees, hike in taxation, devaluation of the naira, consolidation of privileges and emolument of political office holders, the Tinubu-led government and the capitalist ruling elite have declared war on workers and the poor masses.

“It is an irony for the Tinubu-led government and its apologists to tell workers and the poor masses to bear the hardship, while the rich oil marketers and political officeholders smile to the banks and continue in opulence and insane privileges.

Nigeria is too rich in human and material resources to become a country with one of the highest numbers of poor people; the problem, however, is the massive exploitation and looting by a few capitalists, in connivance with IMF, World Bank and multinational companies.

“It is a clear error on the part of the NLC and TUC leadership to enter into a palliative discussion after the government had unleashed a series of attacks on living standards. CDWR calls on the NLC leadership to stop investing hope in any palliative programme of the government.

“We call on the NLC leadership to take these planned mass actions seriously and consolidate them with a 48-hours warning general strike afterwards, should government refuse to reverse all the anti-poor policies.
‘’Labour should not allow itself to be enslaved by court orders from the bourgeois court that closes its eyes when hardship is imposed on workers and poor masses but comes alive when the people choose to resist.

‘’We call on the TUC leadership to join forces with the NLC and other pro-labour organizations in mobilizing for sustainable resistance. Labour should also lead a principled ideological struggle against capitalist policies by putting forward socialist alternatives as the only way to sustain a resistance struggle and liberate the working class and poor masses from the shackles of exploitation and poverty.”

Police responsible for the protection of Nigerians — NLC
Replying to the IGP yesterday, NLC advised the Police hierarchy to ensure there was no violence as Organized Labour and its allies begin mass protests today over the harsh economic policies of the Federal Government, saying it was the constitutional responsibility of the police to protect lives and property.

Responding to the Inspector General of Police, IGP’s threat that the force would not tolerate any form of violence during the protest nationwide, a senior officer of NLC, said “We in Organized Labour are law-abiding and decent leaders who do not believe in violence.

‘’It is the constitutional responsibility of the police to protect the lives of Nigerians and their property anywhere in the country, whether in the place of worship, at work, in the school, on the street, at home and other public and private places.

‘’We advise the IGP not to allow himself to be used to unleash mayhem on innocent Nigerians who are paying his salary and other benefits to give him the comfort he now found himself.”