NLC protest needless, says Presidency

• Nigeria has been grappling with economic difficulties, causing hardships for many citizens

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, has criticised the Nigeria Labour Congress for staging a nationwide protest.

Ngelale labelled the protest as unnecessary during an interview with TVC on Tuesday.

Nigeria has been grappling with economic difficulties, causing hardships for many citizens in fulfilling their fundamental requirements.

Consequently, the NLC declared a two-day protest to urge federal and state governments to tackle hunger across the nation.

On Tuesday in Abuja, the NLC President, Joe Ajaero presented their list of demands to the National Assembly.

The NLC called for the complete execution of welfare measures, initiatives to generate employment, immediate subsidies to farmers to enhance agricultural production, and the restoration of the four refineries, among other appeals.

Reacting to the protest, the presidential spokesperson said the Federal Government has already commenced efforts to alleviate the hardship.

Ngelale, however, cautioned the labour unions against exploiting situations in the country to pursue a political agenda.

He said, “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.

“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.”