The governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party in Kogi State, Murtala Ajaka, on Sunday appealed to the leadership of Nigeria Labour Congress not to embark on its proposed two-day warning strike.
Ajaka, who lost the Kogi governorship election to All Progressives Congress candidate, Usman Ododo, said the President Bola Tinubu-led administration deserves to be given more time to properly address the biting economic hardship ravaging the country.
The appeal comes against the backdrop of speculation that security agents may clamp down on protesters following a subtle threat letter written to the NLC counsel, Femi Falana (SAN).
In the letter dated February 23, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, (SAN) reminded labour of a subsisting order restraining the union from embarking on any industrial action.
The warning strike is slated to be held on February 27 (Tuesday) and 28 (Wednesday).
Reacting in a statement issued by his media team on Sunday, Ajaka expressed concern that if the unionists fail to call off the mass action, it may inevitably trigger chaos and public disturbance.
He said, “I dutifully join other patriots in identifying with the prevailing economic hardship in our dear country, and also to offer counsel to the organised labour movement led by the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress against embarking on their proposed national strike.
“The decision to go on strike if not revisited could trigger precipitous consequences in the forms of exacerbation of the current quagmire and an escalation of criminality and attendant insecurity which are predictable recipes for the breakdown of civil order.
“Evidently, there is no denying the fact of invasive poverty owing basically to the speedy escalation of prices of essential commodities like foodstuffs and necessaries as well as the cost of services.”
“Truly, all Nigerians, including my humble self, are groaning under the excruciating torment of this harsh existential reality but on the flip side, it is a call to patriotic understanding so that our reactions do not undermine the unity and security of the country,” he said.
The SDP chieftain said this was due to systemic institutional adjustments by the government that are geared towards revamping the country’s abyss-bound economy.
Ajaka added, “it is a global experience that the pain Nigerians are confronting now is the immediate shock that logically attends such redemptive economic policies.”
