From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
A group, Coalition of Civil Society Organisations and Political Parties for Good Governance (COSOSAP), has warned NLC to desist from embarking on any form of strike capable of heating up the polity and leading to breakdown of law and order.
Its National Coordinator, Lillian Ene Ogbole, at a press conference in Abuja, warned that NLC cannot engage in any form of protest or nationwide strike because it would escalate more crisis and problem more than what is presently obtainable. The coalition, however, appealed to labour leaders to approach the fuel subsidy controversy with objectivity and patriotism knowing that the economic nosedive is not peculiar to Nigeria.
“It is worthy of note, therefore, to mention emphatically that NLC cannot roll in the path of any form of industrial action either by way of protest or nationwide strike as this will further escalate more crisis and problem than what is presently obtainable.
“It is no news that the world at large is going through severe post-COVID hardship; this has damaged several economies around the globe today. These information that are available for free on various global communication platforms.
“It will begin to send malicious signals both locally and internationally if what is rated as global crisis is being contained and handled by the umpire Labour body in a way and manner that throw the country into uncontrollable uproar. The menace of difficult times and hardship can only be overcome through reasoning together and working in synergy to achieve prosperity and progress.
“Finally, we call on the organized Labour union to desist from any statement or action that may heat up the polity or lead to a breakdown of law and order. We call on them to approach the fuel subsidy issue with objectivity and patriotism knowing that the economic nosedive is not peculiar to Nigeria,” she warned.
Justifying the removal of fuel subsidy by the President Bola Tinubu-led administration, Ogbole said: No matter the perspective the situation is perceived from, we must be guided by the overriding national interest- which is the continuous survival of our citizens under one indivisible entity, Nigeria.
“Political leaders and economic pundits have argued and agreed that the oil subsidy regime has constituted a source of monumental corruption and a clog in the wheels of the nation’s progress in the last forty five years,” she said.