Hardship: Count us out of protest — Kwara NLC

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Kwara State on Tuesday says it will not participate in the planned nationwide protests against economic hardship in the country.

The council also urged its affiliate unions to dissociate themselves from the protests on the ground that it is likely to be hijacked.

The state NLC Chairman and Secretary, Muritala Olayinka and Isiah Eigege respectively said this in a statement issued in Ilorin.

Regretting the state of the economy in the country, the labour union called on the government to enter into dialogue with the organizers of the protests to address the nation’s challenges.

The statement expressed the readiness of the organized labour to mediate between the masses and the government with a view to achieving restraint.

It also tasked the protesters to find an alternative means of engaging the government especially through round table negotiation rather than the planned protests.

“We note with deep concern the public outcry about the devastating hardship in Nigeria.

“We are also obsessed with the anticipated consequences of the protest which may be exacerbated or degenerated by unscrupulous group of people who do not mean well for Nigeria.

“The people of Kwara State are known as peaceful group of people. We pray that the peace should not erode us this time,” the statement emphasized.

It said that protest is a fundamental right of people under the Constitution but development can only be guaranteed under a peaceful atmosphere.

The statement asserts that the NLC, as an umbrella body of all the workers in the country, has a progressive record which is evident in its years of struggle for the welfare of Nigerian workers.

“We have listened to the people’s indignation in the recent days, which is caused by the socio-economic hardship in the country.

“We have also resolved to mediate between the masses and the government with a view to achieving restraint in order to find an alternative means of engaging the government rather than the planned protest.

“It is in light of above that we call on government to reach out to the organizers of the protest for a dialogue to address the challenges of the moment,” the statement announced.

It says Kwara NLC is not the organizer of the protest and is not going to be part of it.

“In a similar way, we urge our affiliate unions to dissociate themselves from the planned protest as fear of the protest being hijacked by hoodlums is central in our mind as organized labour,” the statement said.