Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate in last November governorship election in Kogi State, Alhaji Yakubu Murtala Ajaka, has appealed to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) against embarking on their proposed national strike.
He made the appeal in a statement he personally signed and issued to newsmen in Abuja on Sunday.
The Nigeria Labour Congress and its Trade Union Congress of Nigeria counterpart had recently issued a 14-day nationwide strike notice to the Federal Government over the failure of the present administration Bola to implement the agreements reached on October 2, 2023, following the removal of the subsidy on petrol.
The Federal Government had among other things promised the implementation of a N35,000 wage award for civil servants which however has not been paid up to date.
The two-day strike is expected to commence on Tuesday and terminate on Wednesday, this week.
The SDP candidate who acknowledged that the economic policies of the present administration have triggered “speedy escalation of prices of essential commodities like foodstuffs and necessaries as well as the cost of services,” however expressed concern that the “decision to go on strike if not revisited, could trigger precipitous consequences in the forms of exacerbation of the current quagmire and an escalation of criminality and attendant insecurity which are predictable recipes for the breakdown of civil order.”
He appealed to the Organised Labour to continue to exercise patience, show understanding with the federal government as he noted that negative reactions from Nigerians could undermine the unity and security of the country.
The statement reads in part: “I dutifully join other patriots in identifying with the concerns of fellow Nigerians over the prevailing economic hardship in our dear country; and also to offer counsel to the Organised Labour Movement led by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) against embarking on their proposed national strike.
“The decision to go on strike if not revisited, could trigger precipitous consequences in the forms of exacerbation of the current quagmire and an escalation of criminality and attendant insecurity which are predictable recipes for the breakdown of civil order.
“Evidently, there is no denying the fact of invasive poverty owing basically to the speedy escalation of prices of essential commodities like foodstuffs and necessaries as well as the cost of services. This is due to systemic institutional adjustments by government that are geared towards revamping our abyss-bound economy. It is a global experience that the pain we confront now is the immediate shock that logically attends to such redemptive economic policies.
“Truly, all Nigerians including my humble self are groaning under the excruciating torment of this harsh existential reality but on the flip side, it is a call to patriotic understanding so that our reactions do not undermine the unity and security of the country.
“I therefore plead with Organised Labour to exercise exemplary patience, demobilise their members from the imminent industrial action and grant government the benefit of trust at least till the 29th of May, 2024 when this administration would be one calendar year post inauguration. This I seek in the national interest.“
