Nigerians have expressed dissatisfaction at the NLC’s insistence on staging a protest on Wednesday, August 2, despite President Tinubu’s Tuesday reassuring address promising immediate economic relief, particularly in the major areas of food and transportation cost.
They wondered why the labour union intends to continue with the protest action, which could cause chaos, when the government has already addressed all of its listed demands, including the provision of buses to cut transportation costs and the release of over 200,000 metric tonnes of grains and other staples to ensure access to affordable food.
The government has also committed to the imminent raise of the minimum wage to match rising living costs while offering loan and funding opportunities to civil servants, business owners, and students to stimulate income and economic growth.
According to them, the need for a protest was no longer necessary and by proceeding with one, despite a timely government response, the NLC is displaying bad faith in its engagement with the government.
Others have accused the NLC of pursuing a partisan agenda given its public backing of the Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi, who lost the presidential elections owing to his failure to inspire faith in his programs and a divisive posturing as an Igbo-Christian candidate which meant that he was unable to attract substantial votes outside his home region of the southeast.
Joe Ajaero, the NLC president who hails from the southeast region, is alleged to be helping the political goals of Obi whose supporters have been calling for a coup after learning the hopelessness of their court petitions.