NLC Rally: Security halt procession in Borno, as workers observe peaceful protest
NLC Chairman Comrade Yusuf Inuwa flanked by other Exco members addressing protesters in Maiduguri
By Dauda Iliya
The Nigeria Labour Congress NLC nationwide protests has been observed peacefully in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital.
Members of the affiliate Unions under the NLC converged at the Secretariat as early as eight in the morning to join their counterparts across the country to protest high costs of living.
However, security operatives who have been deployed in their numbers denied the protesters to carry on with the procession beyond the premises of the NLC Secretariat.
After several consultations with the Commissioner of Police, leadership of the Congress then proceeded with the rally few meters away from the Secretariat amidst tight security.
In his address, Chairman Nigerian Union of Congress Comrade Yusuf Inuwa said the economic situation in the county is deteriorating, hence the protest.
He decried the measure taken by security agents to halt the rally, emphasizing that as law-abiding citizens, members of the organised labour have the right for peaceful procession.
“The security agents insisted that the rally be conducted within the premises of the Secretariat, however workers protested the decision, that make us to go out by force outside the Secretariat and have a working distance to address members ” Comrade Inuwa said.
Comrade Inuwa called on the Federal and Borno state government to address the hardship faced by the people and called for the implementation of a living wage and not minimum wage.
