Lawrence Nwimo, Awka
The announced protest by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) recorded a very low turnout in Anambra State, Ikengaonline reports.
This, it was observed, could be attributed to the peculiar wave of insecurity ravaging the states in South-East region region.
Though the executive members of the NLC, TUC, Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, UNIZIK, Awka; National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW; and several other affiliate unions of Labour participated in the protest staged from the state headquarters of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, Awka, to the popular Dr. Alex Ekwueme Square, Awka, only the Labour leaders participated without other members of the various unions.
The Labour leaders during the protest march which lasted for less than one and half hours carried banners which carried inscriptions critical of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Federal Government policies, particularly the removal of the subsidy on the Premium Motor Spirit, PMS.
The various labour union officials led by the duo of the NLC and TUC chairmen in the state, comrades Humphrey Nwafor and Chris Ogbonna respectively in their separate speeches descried that the policies of the Federal Government have thrown not only the workers into untold hardship but also the entire citizens of the country.
“Nigerian people should say no to anti-people policies: increase in fuel price, increase in poverty and criminality,” marked the central message of the union leaders as inscribed on the big banner they displayed during the protest march.
NLC chairman explained that due to the peculiar situation in the state their members who could have participated in the protests from various parts of the state, particularly, Onitsha, Ihiala, Nnewi, Ekwusigo, Ekwulobia, could not come to Awka for the protest.
ASUU UNIZIK chairman, Professor Kingsley Emeka Ubaorji, stated that corruption is the bane of the country’s socio-political and economic woe.
He rather insisted, “If you crush corruption this country will move forward.
“And the fact is that those of us in the position of leadership are our problems; instead of supporting a policy for the poor man to survive you are making a caricature of the masses by using the word ‘let the poor breathe.’
“The truth is that wickedness is not fair. When you pay somebody a salary of N30,000 and a bag of rice is N40,000 will that N30,000 buy a bag of rice?,” the ASUU, UNIZIK leader argued.
The TUC chairman insisted that the Federal Government should reverse the oil subsidy removal, “go back to square one” and ensure that the pump price of petrol is less than N200 per litre.
