NLC Warns of Nationwide Protest Over Growing Poverty and Insecurity

NLC Warns of Nationwide Protest Over Growing Poverty and Insecurity

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has issued a strong warning of potential nationwide mass action in response to the escalating insecurity, rising poverty, and worsening cost-of-living crisis in the country.

The union declared that Nigerian workers would no longer remain passive while the nation’s economy and democratic institutions continue to deteriorate.

In a communiqué released after its Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting, held over the weekend at the June 12 Cultural Centre in Abeokuta, Ogun State, and signed by NLC President Joe Ajaero and General Secretary Emmanuel Ugboaja, the Congress decried the alarming level of insecurity.

“The loss of nearly 700,000 lives within a single year due to insecurity in Nigeria is something typically seen in countries at war,” the communiqué stated. “When farmers are unable to access their lands, famine becomes an imminent threat.”

The NLC condemned the government’s perceived failure to protect lives and property and called for urgent and concrete measures.

“The era of endless talk and unfulfilled promises is over; immediate action is required,” the union warned.

Sources at the meeting revealed that members voiced serious concerns over the deteriorating security situation, noting that no region in the country is currently safe.

It was gathered that one of the leaders of the agric union warned that with the continued killing of farmers and destruction of farmlands, a time might come when no farmer would go to the farm again—an outcome that would have grave consequences for the country.

He said: “As I speak to you, many of our members have stopped going to their farms for fear of being killed. When you turn on your television or listen to the radio, you hear that 20 farmers have been killed here, 10 farmers killed there.

‘’This farmland has been destroyed, that farmland has been destroyed. We cannot continue like this. We should call on the federal government and the security agencies to step up and address the issue of insecurity across the country.

‘’If this is not done, a time will come when nobody will farm again, and the consequences will be better imagined than experienced. At that point, the food crisis and scarcity that will hit the country will be unimaginable.”

According to sources at the meeting, other contributors also lamented what they described as the government’s “talk show” approach to tackling insecurity across the country.

They advised the government to immediately declare a state of emergency on insecurity and order security agencies to deal decisively with the criminals, especially armed herders and bandits, without mercy.

NLC also said the hardship faced by workers and the poor had reached intolerable levels, stressing immediate actions must be taken to avert a national breakdown.

“The contradictions of Nigeria’s political economy have deepened the precarious state of working people and further exposed the fragility of the social contract. At this point, Nigerians are feeling deeply abandoned.”

On the economy, the CWC expressed grave concern over what it described as the “escalating economic hardship which has pushed and kept millions of Nigerians in multi-dimensional poverty.

‘’Workers and their families continue to bear the brunt of unrelenting inflation, surging food prices, prohibitive transport costs, and the erosion of real wages.”

The NLC also raised the alarm over attempts by lawmakers to remove labour issues from the exclusive legislative list in the ongoing constitutional review process, vowing to resist the move with full force.

“Those who seek to remove labour issues from the exclusive legislative list to the concurrent list must desist. Such moves, aimed at further impoverishing Nigerian workers, will be resisted,” the CWC warned.

In a direct threat, the congress declared: “All Nigerian workers are to begin mobilisation across the country to picket the offices of any National Assembly member found supporting the removal of labour issues from the exclusive list.”

NLC called for genuine fiscal federalism, electoral reforms to eliminate vote-buying and rigging, and an end to leadership recruitment based on mediocrity and patronage.

“There must be reforms to close the leadership recruitment gaps that have bred mediocrity and state capture,” it stated.

It also accused the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Minister of Finance, and the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, of colluding to withhold local government allocations meant for elected councils in Osun State.

NLC stated: “This act constitutes a blatant violation of the constitution, the Fiscal Responsibility Act, and the judgment of the Court of Appeal. Of particular alarm are reports that these funds are being diverted to political actors affiliated to the All Progressives Congress, APC, a gross abuse of power and a threat to Nigeria’s democracy.”

It demanded the “immediate and unconditional release” of all withheld local government allocations to the lawfully recognised administrations in Osun State and threatened “decisive actions” if its demands were not met.

On trade union membership rights, the CWC decried what it described as “persistent violations of the Trade Union Act 2005,” warning employers against compelling workers to join specific unions.

“It is utterly unacceptable that, despite the express provisions of the law, some employers continue to dictate, compel or otherwise manipulate workers to belong to specific unions,” the communiqué stated.

The NLC directed all affected affiliate unions to resist such actions, “mobilise and proceed to picket any employer engaging in such illegal actions.”

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) acknowledged the government’s provision of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses as a measure to ease transportation costs but called for the rapid development of CNG infrastructure across the country to alleviate the financial burden on workers.

Reaffirming its commitment to active engagement with all tiers of government, the NLC stated: “We remain steadfast in our dedication to defending democracy, promoting economic justice, and advancing social progress.”