Despite reports suggesting that the South-Eastern States would abandon the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) hardship protests against President Bola Tinubu’s administration, images of the ongoing union-led protests in these states continue to surface.
In Anambra, the home state of Labour Party’s Presidential candidate, Peter Obi, citizens participated in the hardship protest in large numbers. The turnout was significant from the first day of the NLC-led hardship protest.
In other states such as Abia, Cross River, Ebonyi, Rivers, Edo and Bayelsa, workers took to the streets to demand an end to the prevailing ‘hunger, poverty, and insecurity’. The Abia state chapter of the NLC joined forces with its national body to stage a peaceful protest aimed at drawing the federal government’s attention to the severe economic hardships Nigerians are currently facing.
Protesters, armed with placards and singing protest songs, voiced their dissatisfaction with the government’s economic policies, which they believe have caused severe hardship for families.
At the union secretariat in Umuahia, the NLC chairman in Abia state, Comrade Okoro Ogbonnaya, addressed the workers. He announced plans for the organized labor to take their protest to the State House of Assembly the next day. He declared, “We will meet the lawmakers tomorrow and make it clear that we are enacting a law that will stand. If our demands are not met, we will strike.”
These protests follow increased calls for demonstrations against the hardships suffered by Nigerians. Prominent individuals and bodies from the South-eastern region, including Ohanaeze Ndigbo, have advised residents of the region to refrain from any form of protest against Tinubu’s government.
