Protests broke out all over Nigeria this morning as the authorities failed to convince Nigerian workers to halt their planned nationwide work strike.
A government delegation met with the leaders of the labor unions on Monday night, hoping to resolve the issues that warranted the strike, but the meeting was deadlocked. “The rally goes on,” said the president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, after the meeting.
Nigeria’s labor union, the NLC, blames the government for neglecting “the welfare of citizens and Nigerian workers.” It is demanding, among other things, a substantial pay raise for Nigerian workers because of the mounting economic hardship in the country.
The NLC had insisted on the mass protest, today and tomorrow, despite the warning by the Department of State Services (DSS) and the country’s attorney-general, Lateef Fagbemi. Fagbemi had cautioned that the planned mass protest was in contempt of court.
While the protest was billed to start today, there were protests in Lagos, Osun, and Edo States yesterday.
—Ezinwanne Onwuka reports for TruthNigeria from Abuja.
