THE TRADE Union Congress (TUC), Nigeria’s second trade union centre, says it has no plans to join the nationwide protest scheduled to commence August 1, 2024 against economic hardship in the country.
Comrade Festus Osifo, TUC President, said this at a news conference on State of the Nation on Thursday in Abuja, where it unequivocally declared that the labour centre would not be mobilising its members to participate in the protest.
According to him, “when you are having a protest, you need to sit down, have conversation, have meetings, you plan, but as of today, nobody has reached out to us that they want to protest.” He also added: “Nobody has asked for our collaboration, so how do you expect us to participate in a protest when we do not know who is organising it or even institution,” he said.
Osifo, however, called on the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to ensure that the protest was not hijacked by hoodlums waiting to take advantage of the situation.
Osifo said that the Nigeria Police was bound by the Police Act as well as constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to provide adequate security for protesters to ensure a peaceful protest.
“We do not really know who is protesting, but all we know is that the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is very clear on the issue of protest.
“The Police Act also mandated the police that when there is a protest, they should ensure there is law and order, they should ensure that those protesting are also protected. That is why we are reminding them that the provision in the Police Act and in the Constitution should be respected.
“If they had contacted us, maybe we would have called our organ meetings for us to review, but as of today, there is clearly nothing to discuss and review,” he said.
The TUC president also blamed the economic hardship on the policy of the Government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to float the naira. He added that a situation where almost everything imported into the country is paid for in foreign currency, leaves the naira at the mercy of the dollar.
He urged the government to find a way of addressing challenges associated with food production, especially in Benue and Plateau which are major staple food zones of the country.
The president also urged government to implement zero import duty on manufacturing equipment, insisting that they have potential to create job.
On the face-off between Dangote and stakeholders in the petroleum industry, he urged President Bola Tinubu to wade into the crisis to avoid losing the confidence of investors in the country. He also called for an abrupt end to statements arising from the various parties, as there was need to find a solution to the problem.
“We feel and strongly believe that Dangote is one huge investor that had invested in Nigeria. Where there are challenges, what they should do literally is for everybody to sit down together to find solution.
“Let all unguarded statements be stopped forthwith. The president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria should bring all of them together and give them marching orders,” Osifo said. (NAN)
