ABEOKUTA- Organised Labour in Ogun on Wednesday, shutdown major roads in Abeokuta, to protest the removal fuel subsidy by the federal government.
The workers demanded the immediate reversal of all anti-poor policies of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
They described the removal of fuel subsidy, hike in school fees and VAT as anti-people policies.
The workers also demanded the release of eight months withheld salaries of university lecturers and an end to what they described as inhuman actions and policies of the government.
According to them, the policies had brought untold hardships to Nigerian workers and further worsened the living condition of the people.
Armed with various placards, the workers marched from the NLC secretariat in Leme area of Abeokuta metropolis to the governor’s office in Oke-Mosan preventing free vehicular movement.
NAN reports that some of the inscriptions on their placards read: “Let the poor breathe, don’t suffocate them”, “Stop importation of petrol, revive the refineries now!!!”, “Stop the looting, tax the rich and subsidise the poor” and “Give workers what is due”.
Addressing the workers, the state NLC chairman Hammed Ademola said that the protest was in compliance with the directive of the national body of the union.
“We have to be on the street; we must not wait until we die. Our destiny is always in our hands and now is the right time for us to tell the government of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu that we Nigerians are suffering.
“The fuel subsidy removal has caused a lot of hardship; untold hardship onto the masses of this nation. We are suffering, we have crude oil yet we are still buying abroad, enough is enough,” Ademola said.
His TUC counterpart, Akeem Lasisi demanded the reversal of fuel subsidy, saying that “subsidy is the constitutional responsibility of any government.
He submitted that subsidy is a global practice, adding that it was unfortunate that “in this country, our own subsidy is marred with corruption.
“Instead of government to remove the corruption in subsidy, they removed subsidy itself,” he said.
The workers also demanded the repair of Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries. (NAN)
