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Organized Labor Suspends Nationwide Protest, Extends Ultimatum
By Faith Kordoo
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has suspended its nationwide two-day protest, extending its 7-day ultimatum by another 7 days to March 13th, 2024.
The NLC grounded economic activities across the country on Tuesday, with labour leader Joe Ajaero saying that the protest was about hunger and not just a clamor for a review of the minimum wage.
“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?” Ajaero questioned.
Nigeria is currently facing rising inflation, food inflation, the forex crisis, economic hardship, and the high cost of living occasioned by the removal of petrol subsidies, prompting protests in various parts of the country.
The Presidency had engaged labor leaders in a last-minute attempt to get them to shelve the protest on Monday night, but the meeting ended in deadlock as the NLC insisted that the protest was going to hold.
However, in its statement released at the end of its National Executive Council meeting late on Tuesday, the first day of the protest, the highest organ of the NLC suspended “street action for the second day of the protest, noting that the objectives of the protest were achieved on the first day of the demonstration.
“Consequently, NEC-in-session resolved as follows: to suspend street action for the second day of the protest, having achieved overwhelming success and thus attained the key objectives of the 2-day protest on the first day,” the statement read in part.
Labor, however, noted that nationwide action continues on Wednesday with simultaneous press conferences across all the states of the federation by the state councils of the Congress, including the National Headquarters.
“To reaffirm and extend the 7-day ultimatum by another 7 days, which now expires on the 13th day of March 2024, within which the government is expected to implement all the earlier agreements of the 2nd day of October 2023 and other demands presented in our letter during today’s nationwide protest.
“To meet and decide on further lines of action if, on the expiration of the 14 days, the government refuses to comply with the demands as contained in the ultimatum”, the body warned