Members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) have stormed the National Assembly complex in Abuja, in a nationwide protest on Tuesday, February 27.
Carrying placards with various messages, the protesters arrived at the legislative complex in the morning, demanding government action to address the rising cost of living in the country.
The NLC president, Joe Ajaero, who led the protest, said the demonstration was to let President Bola Tinubu and the lawmakers know “the plight of Nigerians who are suffering from hunger and poverty.”
He said the protest was not just about the NLC, but about the millions of Nigerians who are struggling to survive in the face of inflation, unemployment, and low wages.
Ajaero lamented the Federal Government’s failure to meet the demands of the workers and the masses, especially after the removal of fuel subsidy, which led to an increase in the pump price of petrol.
He accused the government of reneging on its promise to pay the 2019 N30,000 minimum wage, “which is not enough to cater for the basic needs of the workers and their families. He noted that the series of meetings with the government did not yield any positive results.
“The meeting, you saw; there was a meeting on Sunday till late, and there was a meeting yesterday till late, all aimed at saying, ‘Don’t come out’ but we are out for a peaceful rally to tell Nigerians that we are hungry. There is hunger in the land.
“There’s nobody that doesn’t know, there’s nobody that doesn’t know that a bag of rice is about N70,000 now or more. You can’t buy anything. Bread is out of reach. With N30,000 minimum wage, if you eat a loaf of bread every day, you’ll be spending almost N40,000,” he said.
He accused the government of neglecting the local production of food and allowing the export of agricultural products to neighbouring countries, where they fetch higher prices.
He also blamed the government for the death of seven people who were killed in a stampede at a warehouse in Lagos, where the customs officials were selling seized goods.
“Somebody is saying we should not say this. We are going to tell the government, we are going to tell the whole world so that they can take measures to know where this is pinching us. Ordinary food produced in this country is being exported because the countries around us, their currencies are high.
“Now people prefer to go and sell it there where they will get better money. And nobody is checking even our borders. Check what is happening in Lagos.
“Customs said they were selling products they seized and there were about seven people that died. Have they compensated for such families? Who is responsible for the death of such people? There’s absolute hunger and you say we should not say we are hungry. So should we keep quiet and die? The answer is no. So that’s why we are coming out,” he said.
He said the protest was not only about the minimum wage, but about the general welfare of Nigerians, who deserve to live a dignified life.
“This protest, is it all about minimum wage? You have to understand it. This protest is about hunger. What of those who are not working? The minimum wage, when will it be completed? When will it be implemented? What will be the minimum wage that will remove hunger?” Ajaero quizzed.
