Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, has slammed the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) for staging a nationwide protest which he described as needless.
Nigerian cities witnessed peaceful protests on Tuesday as members of organised labour flooded the streets to demonstrate against the economic hardship and spiralling inflation confronting the citizenry.
Last-minute efforts by the Federal Government to stall the protest had ended in deadlock.
President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero, however, led protests that were staged in Abuja, Lagos, Ibadan, Jos and other major cities of the country.
Among other prominent Nigerians who participated in the protests include Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde; human rights lawyer, Femi Falana; the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, and others.
Reacting to the protests, the presidential spokesperson said the federal government has already started addressing the hardship.
Ngelale said this during an interview with TVC adding that the fact that the Trade Union Congress (TUC) did not join the protest shows that it was needless.
“Any labour union that is speaking to the concerns of Nigerian families, the pains that are being felt by our people, is absolutely free to do so. It is right that Nigerians speak up in difficult situations,” he said.
“And the government has been doing everything possible to alleviate those concerns. But we also want to separate the legitimate concerns being expressed by some of the labour unions from people trying to leverage some of the situations in the country to achieve a political agenda.
“We have seen the Trade Union Congress (TUC) pull out of the purported nationwide protest. We have seen the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) pull out of the protest. There is no unanimity behind what NLC is trying to do. I believe all of the legitimate concerns being raised by the unions are being tackled by the administration of President Bola Tinubu.”
The protest which was a two-day warning to the federal government continues tomorrow.
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