By Felix Kuyinu
A group, Lagos People’s Assembly, LPA, has urged the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and other labour movements to ignore their planned strike over the current hardship facing the nation.
The group in a press conference in Lagos on Sunday explained that the ongoing meltdown is not peculiar to Nigeria, adding that a more constructive plan and action is the way forward in scaling through the hard time.
LPA, an organisation made up of several civil society groups, in a statement tagged, ‘Constructive Engagement is the Way Out of Our Economic Challenge’ appealed to the labour unions to engage the Federal Government constructively in order to come up with the best solution to the hardship
“Lagos People’s Assembly (LPA) is a coalition of over 80 civil society and community based organizations, public interests and self determination groups and small business owners whose businesses are yet to fully recover from the EndSARS protest and covid-19, with a focus on good governance, peace and development of our dear Lagos State in particular and Nigeria in general.
“This press conference is one out of so many of our medium for constructive engagements with both the governed and government on how to hold the government accountable as well as play our roles as patriotic and conscientious citizens at all times with the understanding that the struggle and work for a better society is a collective responsibility of all.
“As we all know, it’s an indisputable fact that Nigerians are going through economic challenging times like citizens of other countries in the world, which is an admission of the truism that the present day economic challenges is a global phenomenon.
“The economic challenges we are presently facing was foretold in the past by economic experts who x-rayed our economic reality and admonished us to be prepared for tough times ahead and like it’s said, “tough times don’t last, but tough people do.
“Therefore, we are optimistic that Nigerians as tough people will overcome this present economic times like we have always done collectively in the past.
“We have watched and listened to how some persons and interest have tried to mislead and confuse the Nigerian people by saying that the retooling of the economy by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration is a foreign economic pill that was prescribed for Nigeria. Absolutely untrue, Nigerians themselves being economically savvy prescribed this solution in order to remove the Nigerian economy from the life support machine that it was plugged in.
“Today, the new economic measures have come with some pains which is not unexpected such as the prices of goods and services shooting up due to so many factors, some of which are within the control of the government and citizenry, we are also aware that the revenue accruing to government at all tiers have increased triple fold.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we can see for ourselves that the citizens cries about the economic reality have not gone unheeded not only from the federal government, but also here in Lagos State, where we see local government council administrations also embarking on palliative measures to cushion the effect of the economic challenges on our people.
“It is in this vein, that as the Lagos People’s Assembly (LPA) which is an assemblage of Nigerians of different ethnic, religious and professional calling living and doing business in Lagos, that we are earnestly adding our voice to that of other patriots and men and women of goodwill and peace, to call on the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to shelve it’s two days protest marches for the sake of national peace and security.
“While we recognize the right of the labour unions to embark on protest or strike, as conscientious citizens and residents of Lagos, we are conscious that Labour as a factor of production creates wealth which is the motto of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), and going on a protest march at this point in time will be injurious to the economic wellbeing of Lagosians, Nigerians and a negation of what labour stands for.
“Lagos State like we all know is a volatile environment, because it is the envy of anti democratic elements who would stop at nothing to pull the state and Nigeria backward at the slightest opportunity. The trauma of the 2020 EndSARS protests with its damage to limbs, destruction of life and public and private properties still haunts us till date.
“The only solution to our economic challenges is constructive engagements between the government and the citizenry and not protest marches or strikes, the Lagos State government has inaugurated it’s committee on the distribution of palliatives which is made up of eminent Nigerians, it is our conviction and belief that this committee of which we are admonishing other states governments to follow suit, should be given the benefit of doubt to play it’s part in alleviating the plight of the common man for which they have been constituted to do.
“We want it placed on record that the Lagos People’s Assembly will help monitor the various social intervention programmes recently announced by the Lagos State government to ensure they are judiciously executed for the benefit of the people and we will also provide regular independent reports to the Lagos State government as our own contribution.”
The press statement was signed by Gbenga Soloki of Campaign Against Impunity and Domestic Violence; Nelson Ekujumi of Committee for the Protection of Peoples Mandate (CPPM); Peter Oparah who represented Patriotism Awareness Forum; Shola Justice Omolola for Centre for Leadership and Democratic Ethics; Ajayi Popoola of CEDESER and Dayo Ogunlana of Coalition of Oodua Self Determination Groups (COSEG).
Others are Jubril Ogundimu of Oodua Republic Front; Elijah Ajanu of Ideal Society Movement and Femi Lawson of Centre for Public Accountability
