Ajaero, who gave the explanation on Friday evening while speaking on X space, also clarified that the Trade Union Congress (TUC) had never been part of the planned protest from the beginning.
Asked of the specific challenges facing Nigerians that necessitated the
declaration of the two-day nationwide protest and the position of the Trade
Union Congress (TUC), Ajaero listed the high cost of food items, cement,
transport, amongst others, which according to him were orchestrated by removal
of fuel subsidy.
He said, "Clearly speaking, TUC has never been part of the action
from conception. The only warning signal was the TUC coming out to say they are
not part of it, even when we didn't say they are part of it.
"For them to have gone further to deduce some letters
disassociating themselves and leaking it to the media. Such statements were
unprovoked. Their letter coming the same day the DSS sent a letter to us,
warning us to shelve the protest, gives course to odd.
"The NLC at its National Executive Council last Friday, resolved to
have a two-day protest on the cost of living on the high sea faced by
Nigerians, and by implication, workers, to make their (NLC) position known, not
just to the government but to every Nigerian."
Ajaero said that the NLC in its response told the DSS "To keep
their unsolicited advice; because history will not forgive NLC if we should
keep quiet at this moment in Nigeria's political history."
On mobilisation for the planned protest, the NLC President said that all
industrial unions in the country and 36 state councils and Abuja had resolved
to organise the protest, adding that the union had started forwarding all the
mobilisation materials to all the states, and had held several meetings with
the union's civil society allies.
Ajaero said that "The whole crisis of this hardship and hunger
started with the removal of fuel subsidy," stressing that "The moment
that was touched, transportation and everything associated with it went up,
that even if a wanted to go to a bush market to buy plantain, before she would
transport it to the town, a lot of money has gone into it, and it will go out
of the reach of an ordinary man."
He said that this was further aggravated by the free float of the Naira
"Where Naira today is getting to almost N2,000 per Dollar."
According to him, "The implication of that is that every other
neighbouring country's currencies are higher than Nigeria in value and that has
led to a very large extent, the issue of smuggling.
"For a businesswoman, no matter how primitive and local, who knows
that if she sells a paint of garri for N3,000, if she takes it through the
border between Nigeria and Cotonou or Nigeria and Niger Republic, she will sell it maybe for N7,000, she would find her way
to that area. To that extent, food will no longer be cheap and available to the
common man."
The NLC President further noted that those who have their children
abroad, some of the children are really suffering at the moment.
He said that this is "Because, assuming there is any worker that is
earning N1 million in Nigeria, but I doubt, if you convert it, you will hardly
get maybe $500. Now, you can't even take care of your kids."
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