‘Stop the hunger’ — Imo workers protest economic hardship

The Imo chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Tuesday protested the economic hardship in the state. 

On Sunday, the NLC reiterated that it would proceed with its planned two-day nationwide protest, which kicked off today.

In Imo, workers dressed in black attires and took to the streets of Owerri, the state capital, with placards bearing different inscriptions like ‘end hardship now’, ‘we say no to economic hardship ravaging the country’, ‘stop the hunger’, ‘lower food prices’, ‘Nigerians are hungry’, among others.

Uche Nwigwe, the NLC chairman in the state, said the idea behind the protest was to restate their demand of curtailing the rising cost of living in the country.

He described the current economic situation as “unbearable”, adding that the hardship has affected junior and senior civil servants in the state.

“The exercise is a national directive as a result of hunger and dilapidated infrastructure in the country,” Nwigwe said.

“It’s a peaceful demonstration. The major target is to send a strong message to the presidency to step up actions and save Nigerians from the prevailing economic downturn.

“It’s a two-day peaceful demonstration. We are going to continue tomorrow. But in case our demands are not met within a stipulated time, we shall embark on the mother of all protests.

“We urge Imo people, especially the civil servants, to be law-abiding and resilient because we strongly believe that the federal government will surely do something to salvage the situation.”

Cosmas Christopher, chairman of the non-academic staff union in the state, said the hunger in the land has reached a worrisome point.

“No family can boast of a normal three-square meal daily, as both the rich and poor are crying. Yet government has remained adamant. Is it when all Nigerians die of hunger that they will do something?” Christopher said.

Other affiliated unions at the protest were the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) led by Philips Nwansi; National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) led by Charles Okere; Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) led by Ifeanyi Nwanguma, among others.

Reacting to the protest, Hope Uzodinma, the governor of Imo, who spoke through Nnamdi Anyaehie, his chief of staff, said the NLC’s actions were “justifiable”, and commended the leadership for conducting themselves in an orderly manner.

He promised to carry their messages to President Bola Tinubu, who he said has been locked in series of meetings aimed at alleviating the hardship in the land.