The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is going ahead with its nationwide protest planned for Wednesday in major cities across the country, despite a last-minute meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the State House on Tuesday night.
After the meeting, NLC President Joe Ajaero told journalists that he could not unilaterally call off the protest because the NLC is not run by one person.
He explained that the union’s leadership would first return to its organs, review what the President said, and then decide on the next steps. He also said the outcome of their early Wednesday meeting would be communicated to the public.
While that decision process was still ongoing, some members of the NLC in parts of the country, including Lagos, had already begun gathering for the demonstrations. A staff member at the NLC headquarters in Abuja confirmed that people were assembling but said it was still unclear how the day would unfold at the national level.
The main reason for the protest is rising insecurity across Nigeria. The NLC says kidnappings, killings and violent attacks have become too frequent, and that ordinary citizens no longer feel safe in their own communities. The union is using this protest to call attention to what it describes as a national emergency on security.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, NLC spokesperson Benson Upah said the protest would go ahead as a “National Day of Protest and Mourning”. He warned that the union had received information that some “desperate political hirelings” might attempt to disrupt or violently attack peaceful protesters.
According to him, any such attack on workers or citizens could trigger an immediate and indefinite shutdown across key sectors of the economy.
Upah described the protest as more than just a march. He called it a collective expression of grief and frustration from Nigerians who are tired of living in fear. He said the action is also a democratic demand for the basic right to life and security, which the state is duty-bound to protect.
He added that any attempt to suppress the demonstrations would be seen as an attack on the country’s economic engine and on workers themselves, warning that the response from organised labour could be escalated if protesters are harmed.
As the situation unfolds, all eyes are on how the Federal Government will respond to NLC’s actions and whether any last-minute agreement can ease tensions while addressing the union’s core demand: better safety and protection for Nigerians.
