NLC suspends nationwide protest

The statewide protests organised by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) that were earlier on Tuesday held in several federation states have been put on hold.

In a statement following the National Executive Council meeting, Labour claimed that the protest's first day of action had met its goals.

The communique partly reads, “Consequently, NEC-in-session resolved as follows: to suspend street action for the second day of the Protest having achieved overwhelming success thus attained the key objectives of the 2-day protest on the first day.”

Recall that the elimination of the petrol subsidy has caused economic hardship, rising inflation, food inflation, a forex crisis, and a high cost of living in Nigeria, all of which have sparked protests in some regions of the nation.

On Monday night, the NLC insisted that the demonstration would go ahead, so the presidency invited labour leaders to a last-minute meeting that resulted in deadlock.

However, the National Labour Council (NLC) shut down business operations throughout the nation on Tuesday. According to labour leader Joe Ajaero, the demonstration was about hunger rather than merely calling for a reassessment of the minimum wage.

Ajaero said, “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?”

Source