Members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Kwara state on Tuesday staged a peaceful protest to call the attention of the federal government to the plight of Nigerians, especially workers, over the current economic hardship in the country.
The workers, who took the protest from the Labour House in Ilorin, the state capital, round major roads and streets in the Ilorin metropolis, ended it at the Governor’s Office, where the permanent secretary, Establishment and Training, Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim, addressed the group.
The people carried placards and chanted songs against government economic policies and measures, saying that the policies had brought untold hardship on families in the country.
Addressing the workers, the chairman of the NLC in the state, Comrade Murtala Olayinka, said Nigerian workers are in hunger.
“The only free things in Nigeria are air and sunlight. Every item is increasing in price per second. So, this protest is telling the government that it needs to redefine some of its economic and security policies.
“The rate of insecurity is alarming. Government had to take the issue of security seriously.
“On the economic front, Federal Government needs to strengthen the power of the Naira. Why are week dollarising our economy?”
The labour leader expressed the hope that the government would see reason to give room for negotiations for better welfare of workers after the two-day protest.
“After these two days protest, I believe the government will give room for negotiations, dialogue and stakeholders meetings through which solutions to these problems will be provided.
“When all that is done, organised labour will not take any action against the government. All what we are yearning for is for the common man to live happily in the country”, he said.
