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NLC resumes strike Nov
16
• To enable
Muslims complete Ramadan fast
• Ijaws support strike, say they are fed up with Abuja
By Akanimo Sampson
Bureau
Chief (Port Harcourt)
and Victor Ebimomi
Reporter
(Lagos)
Labour
has agreed to Muslim requests and shifted by 15 days the second of its national
protest against fuel price hikes. It will now begin on November 16, according
to the resolution of the Labour and Civil Society Coalition (LASCO) at a
marathon meeting in Lagos on Sunday.
The
strike has the backing of the Ijaws in the oil rich Niger Delta who say they
have had enough of the broken promises of the federal authorities.
Nigeria
Labour Congress (NLC) President Adams Oshiomhole told journalists that the
coalition moved back the protest date, not because of appeals from traditional
leaders - whom he accused of doing the bidding of Aso Rock - but
for Muslims to complete their Ramadan fast.
He
described them as fellow “foot soldiers” in the struggle for a
better Nigeria.
The
Ijaws expressed displeasure with the policies of the Federal Government and
pledged to support the protest.
“We
support the strike because it is the only peaceful way of telling this
government that we are fed up with their civil policies”, said Ijaw
National Congress (INC) President Kimse Okoko.
Okoko,
who teaches political science at the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT)
added: “Obasanjo does not listen to us (Ijaw people). He knows
everything in this world. This is a deaf government. A deaf government that
does not want to listen to us”.
Explaining
the strategy for the next strike, Oshiomole said it would be
“deregulated” as Labour would not just demand for price reversal
but would include “some very fundamental issues” on the general
welfare of the masses such as how to eradicate poverty and the state of
hopelessness, among others.
Oshiomhole
reiterated that the strike would be total and indefinite and urged Muslims to
reciprocate the gesture by giving their support.
Before
the start of the protest, the NLC would hold a series of rallies, commencing
from Wednesday, to discuss the issues at stake.
“Now
that we have decided to fix this date, we now think that the traditional rulers
will feel obliged to prevail on their people to join the strike”,
Oshiomhole said.
He
upbraided the coalition of the Northern Civil Society Groups for distancing
itself from the strike, saying it does not represent the interest of the
ordinary people.
Lamenting
that the Palliative Committee set up in the wake of the warning strike is a
smokescreen, he noted that the President expressed anger when its report was
submitted last Wednesday as he knocked the members for discussing fuel prices,
which was beyond their mandate.
Oshiomhole
insisted that “to discuss palliatives alone is to take the problem as
given”.
He
condemned the government for using “discredited people and other
institutions” to destablise the Labour community and to create the
impression that it is factionalised.
“Labour
is ever united in the struggle to liberate the masses”, he stressed, and
berated Abuja for “depending on foreign bodies and countries, including
South Africa to decide its oil prices”.
He
alleged that one of the institutions “in the forefront of sabotaging the
collective will of Nigeria for good and responsive governance” is the
Shell Oil Company and warned that its image will be so regarded by the masses
if it does not retrace its steps.
Shell
has instituted a case at the Federal High Court in Lagos to restrain the Shell
branch of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria
(PENGASSAN) from joining the industrial action.
Oshiomhole
insisted that Labour is poised to face challenges from all quarters. “If
they bring politics, we will join them. If they bring religion we will join
them but if they bring mago-mago (tricks) we will
not”.
Pressing
home the position of the Ijaws in Port Harcourt at the weekend, Okoko stated:
“It is our fundamental right to register our displeasure at the wicked
policies of the Federal Government, directed mainly by the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. They cannot fool us all the time. Let
the praise singers, the sycophants and apologists be praising him (Obasanjo)
that he is doing well”.
“This
government is a disaster. A disaster in the sense that all the indices of
social existence have been rubbished by this government. Most Nigerians live
below the poverty line. There are no jobs, the hospitals are useless, the
educational system has broken down and infrastructure have further decayed.
“The
success story of Obasanjo’s regime is in the GSM, although they are
milking us and the government is looking at them. However, to be objective,
that is one area in which one can say the administration has done something.
Other than that, every other index is a disaster.
“How
can any responsible government increase price at will within a very short time,
and they are not thinking about the inflationary consequences of that kind of
policy. Now airfare is N15,000 for one hour. Look at what they have done to
the ordinary man’s kerosene.
“So,
when they resort to cutting down the trees, then they will talk about
deforestation. Striking is the only way to show our grievances, to tell the
government that we are fed up with them. Come 2007, Obasanjo must not try to
change the Constitution to come back for a third time.
“The
Ijaw people are demanding the restructuring of Nigeria along the line of true
federalism where we own and control our resources and pay our appropriate
taxes”.
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