The Bauchi State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, on Tuesday staged a peaceful protest to draw the attention of the Federal Government to the challenges facing Nigerians, particularly workers, amidst the current economic difficulties in the nation.
Starting from the Labour Secretariat in the state capital, the workers marched through major roads and streets in the Bauchi metropolis before concluding their demonstration at the Bauchi Government House.
There, they were addressed by the Deputy Governor of the state, Mohammed Auwal Jatau.
Speaking at the Government House, the State NLC Chairman, Comrade Dauda M. Shuaibu recalled that Nigerian workers were thrown into untold hardship following the removal of fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu during his inaugural speech on May 29 last year.
According to the NLC chairman, the sudden change prompted the Congress to call a National Executive Council meeting and thereafter tabled their grievances before the Federal Government which prompted the formation of a committee on palliatives.
Shuaibu, who recalled that an eight week deadline was given to the committee to submit their report, lamented that it has not been able to do so.
He explained that before embarking on the protest, a 14 day ultimatum was issued to the Federal Government.
He warned that if their grievances are not addressed within one week, the government should expect a total shutdown of the country.
He said, “Recall that on May 29, when the President of Nigeria was sworn in. In his inaugural speech, he made a pronouncement of subsidy removal.
“Subsequently, prices of commodities became high in the market.
“The workers became victims. A bag of rice then was N20, 000, a liter of petrol was 165 and the salary was N30,000 and now, a bag of rice is N70,000, a bag of maize is N60,000 and the salary remains static.
“On this note, the NLC held a National Executive Council meeting and conveyed our grievances to the Federal Government.
“Later, they formed a tripartite committee on palliatives which was given 8 weeks to conduct and submit their assignment. Up till this movement, that committee had not yielded any meaningful result.
“We issued an ultimatum and today is the second day that we embarked on these protests, workers cannot afford three square meals, we can’t pay school fees and house rent.
“The situation is unbearable, Hardship is everywhere. It’s on this note that we met again at the National Executive Council meeting via zoom and decided to issue a 14-day ultimatum.
“It was issued on the eighth of this month and expires on the 22nd of this month. It was after that we resolved to embark on a 2-day protest.
“If after a week, nothing was done on the October 2nd resolution, we are going to have a total shutdown of Nigeria.”
