•Photo: Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State
By SAM JONES
YENAGOA (Sundiata Post) – Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) in Bayelsa State joined their counterparts across the nation on a peaceful protest against anti-people policies of the Federal Government on Wednesday.
The protesters took off from OMPADEC area of the Amarata axis of Yenagoa and ended at Government House, where they presented a copy of their protest letter to Governor Douye Diri.
NLC chairman, Comrade Barnabas Simon, said the gathering was a peaceful solidarity rally with the national leadership of the union to present a letter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu through Governor Diri.
The letter read, “This document is to register our protest to the hardship his policies have brought upon us since he took over leadership of Nigeria. The removal of fuel subsidy was hasty with no thought-out plan to cushion the effects on workers and other Nigerians already at the poverty belt.
“Today, every family feels the pangs of the harsh policies of government which has resulted in the astronomical increase in transportation, food, goods and services, tuition fees, rising cost in accessing quality healthcare just to name but a few”.
According to Simon, the Federal Government ought to have looked out for the wellbeing of its citizenry, stressing the people are beginning to loose faith in the government as labour ought to have been consulted and brought on board before the removal of the subsidy.
He said, “Permit me to remind government that organised labour would have been consulted and brought on board the negotiations table to seek the ways and means of ameliorating the effects that would have come with subsidy removal on the ordinary Nigerians.
“Consequently, we stand with our national leadership to embark on this peaceful protest rally to register our displeasure over the development in recent months”.
According to him, the march was for the survival of Nigeria and Nigerians and that Nigerians said no to anti people policies, urging the Federal Government to adopt CNG as alternative to petrol.
Labour questioned the protection of “subsidy criminals”, increase in fuel price which was likened to increase in poverty and criminality,
N8,000 palliative to 12 million households calling on the “Federal Government to implement people centered agreements reached with organized labour”.
The protesters said NNPL as a private company should not determine the price of petrol and hailed Governor Diri as a labour friendly who shares in the plight of the common man.
Receiving the letter on behalf of Governor Diri, the commissioner for Labour, Employment and Productivity, Hon. Stanley Braboke, said Diri’s government has people oriented policies to create a conducive environment for workers and welfare.
He said, the launching of Prosperity Taxi was to cushion the effects of the fuel subsidy removal and that “The transport system is not for profit making, but for Bayelsans to have affordable transport fare along the streets and along the roads of Bayelsa”.
