LAGOS — PRESIDENT of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole yesterday in Abuja asked workers and the general public to proceed with the planned anti-fuel hike strike, from tomorrow, saying it was regrettable that government had not taken appropriate steps to address the immediate grievances of Nigerians occasioned by government’s harsh petroleum pricing policy.
The arrow head of the strike, LASCO also advised Nigerians who have not fully prepared for the strike to use today to do a last minute preparation for the strike, insisting that this second phase of the anti-fuel hike strike will be massive, total and indefinite until government listens to the cries of the people.
Similarly unions in the nation’s banking sector have advised customers to do their withdrawals today and buy whatever they need that could last them throughout the duration of the strike because no banking transaction would take place as long the strike lasted.
Comrade Oshiomhole warned the police against provoking violence or shooting workers and Nigerians during the strike as statements credited to the police high command tended to portray, threatening that the police would be held liable for any life lost as a result of police induced violence.
His words: "It is instructive that even the Presidency had publicly admitted over the Sallah holidays the sheer senselessness of the fuel pricing policy, especially with respect to kerosene, which the NLC had all the while pointed out. However, the government has not risen up to the immediate policy challenge, which is price reversal. Before now, organised labour and civil society have afforded the Federal Government so much time to set in motion any machinery for price reversal while the NLC had also returned to the Senator Ibrahim Mantu Committee in furtherance of commitment to dialogue.
Unfortunately, this administration remains insensitive to the suffering of the people and the destruction it is inflicting on the economy through these unbearable prices. Therefore, the general strike/mass campaign scheduled to commence on Tuesday 16th of November, 2004 proceeds as planned nation-wide by the various organisations of Nigerian people."
Meanwhile, LASCO weekend told Nigerians who had to prepare for the second phase of the anti-fuel hike strike beginning tomorrow to use today to do the last preparation for the strike, insisting that it would not only be massive, but total and indefinite.
LASCO advised Nigerians to ignore the people who are working against the strike under the umbrella of the Bureau of African Labour, Human and democratic Right (BALHADER) alleging that they were agents of government.
