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Nigerians have been told to stock their homes with food, medicines, and other essential needs ahead of the proposed nationwide strike by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
ADULAWO NEWS reports that the labour union proposed a nationwide strike to protest what it called harsh policies and the removal of fuel subsidy by the President Bola Tinubu-led administration.
The NLC, after its National Executive Council (NEC) on Friday, picked August 2 to commence a nationwide strike and mass protests.
Following the announcement of the strike by the NLC, the government immediately called for an emergency meeting with the organised labour comprising the NLC and Trade Union Congress with a follow-up meeting on Friday at the State House.
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But on Friday, officials of the organised labour angrily stormed out of the meeting following the alleged failure of the government team to show up.
Reacting to the fresh development, the Assistant General Secretary of NLC, Chris Onyeka said the union’s warning to Nigerians was necessary because the strike will cripple activities, including movement.
In a chat with The Punch, Onyeka stated that the warning is important for people to stock what they need at home.
He said transport operators would withdraw their services, while markets, schools, and healthcare facilities would be forced to shut down.
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Onyeka disclosed that the union would meet again with the government on Monday, following which a decision would be made.
He said, “Nigerians should be prepared. That’s what we are saying. Being prepared means you have to stock food in your house and be economical with your movement at this particular point in time so as to avoid being stranded.
“It is going to be a nationwide mass protest, and we are sure that it will affect every corner of the country. We are seriously mobilising across the nation. We are currently at work at the secretariat alongside the CSOs.
“We may not shut down the power supply system, but as the protest goes on, we may shut down other places depending on the response of the government. The (Friday) meeting didn’t hold at all.
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“The government side was not prepared. The representatives were not available. They didn’t show any seriousness towards what they were doing. One of the things we do is hold dialogues. We don’t run away from the table anytime they call us. We are having another meeting with them on Monday.”
Also reacting, the National Deputy President of Trade Union Congress (TUC), Tommy Etim, knocked the government for standing them up on Friday, saying they are not serious.
“When we got to the Villa on Friday, we waited for almost two hours at the gate for clearance with no intervention. It was after two hours that we were allowed in.
“By the time we got to the point of the meeting, we realised that the team representing the government failed to show up.
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“So, it is wrong to actually say labour stormed out of the meeting. How can labour storm out of a meeting that did not hold? We felt very disappointed because we did not expect this from the government,” he said.