The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) workers in Oyo State held a peaceful protest in Ibadan, the state capital, in solidarity with their colleagues nationwide. The state chairmen of NLC and TUC, Kayode Matins and Bosun Olabiyi, mentioned that the decision to move around the town or not would be determined by the spirit of Aluta, emphasizing their commitment to advocating for the rights and welfare of workers.
The NLC state chairman, Martins, revealed that the workers planned to march from the Secretariat to Mokola Round-About, Agodi-Gate, and then return to the Secretariat, continuing their protest until they receive a personal address from the state Governor, Seyi Makinde.
The workers in Oyo State have been protesting since Monday, demanding various rights, including palliatives, an increase in pension allowances, and payment of salary deductions. However, the national bodies of the NLC and TUC announced on Tuesday that all workers should embark on a nationwide protest in response to the removal of fuel subsidy. The protest in Oyo State is part of this larger nationwide movement in solidarity with the demands made by the workers.
#SubsidyProtests: Subsidy removal will make Nigerians’ pains perpetual – Ex-NLC boss.
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Ayuba Wabba, a former President of the Nigerian Labour Congress, expressed concerns about removing the fuel subsidy, especially considering the country’s heavy reliance on imported fuel. He made these remarks while participating in a peaceful protest in Abuja alongside other members of the organized labor.
According to Wabba, the real solution to the current fuel hike is the establishment of functional refineries, not just relying on government palliatives. He emphasized that removing the fuel subsidy would only provide a temporary solution and would perpetuate the current hardships faced by Nigerians.
“What will address this issue is actually the issue of production but the elite, not more than 10 per cent of them, don’t want production, they want importation because they benefit from importation.
“This is the real issue. Therefore, we must continually insist that our refineries should work… Because this will address the so-called issue of subsidy, the issue of high price ”.