TUC: We won’t be part of nationwide protest

Festus Osifo, president of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), says members of the labour union will not participate in the planned nationwide protest.

There have been reports of a planned youth-led protest slated to commence on August 1 over the prevalent economic hardship in the country.

Speaking in Abuja on Thursday, Osifo said the protest organisers had not informed congress about the planned demonstration.

“When you are having a protest, you need to sit down, have a conversation, have meetings, you plan, but as of today, nobody has reached out to us that they want to protest; nobody has asked for our collaboration,” Osifo said.

So, how do you expect us to participate in a protest when we don’t know who is organising it?

“We don’t even have any idea whatsoever what is going to happen, and as an institution, we also know that we have various organs that we run some of those things with.”

Osifo urged Kayode Egbetokun, the inspector-general of police (IGP), to ensure that the protesters are protected in line with the Police Act.

“The leadership never sat down one day on the phone to call for a strike or protest, but instead, we called organ meetings to do a review,” he said. 

“The same way you saw it in the media is the way we have seen it. It is something we don’t really know who is organising it.

“We don’t really know who is protesting, but all we know is that the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is very clear on the issue of protest, and the Police Act also mandated the police that when there is a protest, they should ensure there is law and order; they should ensure those that are protesting are also protected.

“That is why we are reminding them that the provision in the Police Act and the provision in the Constitution should be respected.

“If they had contacted us, maybe we would have called our organs meeting for us to review, but as of today, there is nothing to discuss, there is nothing to review.”