Nationwide Strike: Protesters Destroy National Assembly Gate

Reports monitored from Abuja and Lagos on the ongoing nationwide showed that protesters, led by organised labour, have pulled down the gate of the National Assembly in Abuja.

 The protesters, who had Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, leader, Joe Ajaero, and Festus Osifo of the Trade Union Congress, TUC, leading, asked security operatives stationed at the legislative building to open the gates so workers could talk to the lawmakers.

 But the security officials refused. In anger, the protesters pulled down the gates and flooded the assembly complex.

According to Financial Trust, the Senate Chief Whip, Ali Ndume (APC, Borno South), asked the labour leaders and protesters to call off the nationwide protest and give the Senate one week to address the demands brought before it.

In Lagos, Labour demanded N30,000 subsidy palliative from the state government to assuage the hardship occasioned by fuel subsidy removal.

 Chairman of Lagos NLC, Funmi Sessi, made the demand when the Deputy Governor, Kadri Hamzat, addressed the protesters.

 Sessi said: “We need subsidy palliative. Our minimum wage can no longer take care of our burdens.

 “Many people are dying, and hungry. We know the state government is trying, but they still need to do more.

 “We need subsidy palliative of N30,000 each for workers, for the next six months.

 “We know the government has slashed BRT fares, but we want to be able to put food on our table. Some of us have cars, we need to buy fuel.

 “We want health care to be affordable. Agencies and parastatals should get buses to transmit workers to and fro.

 “We want a stakeholders’ dialogue with the state government. We also need food banks, we want stomach infrastructure; it is very important.”

Among those who joined the labour leaders to protest in Lagos were human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) and presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, AAC, in the 2023 election Omoyele Sowore.

Senate Sets Up Committee

The protesters in their hundreds convened at the Unity Fountain from where they marched to the NASS Complex.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio was expected to address the protesters ahead of today’s screening of ministerial nominees.

At the end of Senate’s closed-door session, Akpabio said the red chamber has set up a three-man committee to meet with the protesters at the National Assembly.