Members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Imo have called for an urgent upward review of the salaries and other emoluments of workers to address the current hardship in the country.
The workers in Owerri made the call when they joined their counterparts across the country in a nationwide peaceful protest against hyperinflation and economic hardship, among other things, on Tuesday.
Addressing newsmen, Comrade Chigaemezu Nwaigwe, the Imo Chairman of NLC, said that workers could no longer keep quiet and continue to die in silence following the uncontrolled surge in prices of goods and services in the country.
He lamented infrastructural decay, the high cost of petroleum products, and epileptic power supply, among other socio-economic needs, adding that Nigerian workers were the ones bearing the brunt of the nation’s economic woes.
“We want to make it abundantly clear that the Nigerian workers are saying no to economic hardship, and enough is enough for the economic hardship.
“That the message should reach the Presidency as the Governor, Sen. Hope Uzodinma, is the Chairman of the APC Governor’s Forum.
“We can no longer afford to take care of ourselves and our families considering the inflating cost of living,“ he said.
A former Secretary to the Imo Government, Chief Nnamdi Anyaehie, while receiving the workers, expressed gratitude to them for the peaceful protest, describing Imo workers as “men of integrity and impeccable loyalty.”
He thanked the security agencies for ensuring that the protest was peaceful and well-organized, adding that the workers’ requests were realistic because a labourer deserves his or her wage.
He pointed out that Gov. Uzodimma was a worker-friendly governor and listed incentives the governor had given to workers in the state, including free transportation, 13th-month salary payments, and expedited promotions, among others.
He noted that though the workers’ concerns were legitimate, it was necessary for them to exercise patience as the administration of President Bola Tinubu was less than one year old and an “unfortunate product of the nation’s years of accumulated transferred socioeconomic woes.“
He canvassed the need for prayers for the nation’s leaders, noting that Nigeria would surely be rescued from the socio-economic doldrums. (NAN)
