There was drama, on Tuesday, at the secretariat of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Enugu State after police authorities in the state asked NLC members not to go ahead with their scheduled protest.
The national leadership of the NLC had fixed nationwide protest to be held on Tuesday and Wednesday over the worsening economic hardship in Nigeria.
Several members of the NLC in Enugu State converged at the secretariat as of 9:00 a.m. ahead of the protest.
But they only protested inside the secretariat. They carried placards with various inscriptions.
Some of the placards read: “stop hunger, lower food prices,” “double allocation to politicians, renewed hunger for the people,” and “Save Naira, stop the collapse of industries.”
“All we are saying, we are hungry,” the protesters chanted.
The chairperson of the NLC in the state, Fabian Nwigbo, told reporters that some security agencies came to his office and asked him to shelve the planned protest or alternatively remain inside the NLC secretariat.
Mr Nwigbo said the police authorities told him they could only guarantee their safety if the protest was held within the secretariat rather than moving around the state.
In a separate interview with PREMIUM TIMES, the NLC chairperson said the police authorities claimed that the decision to halt the scheduled protest was intended to prevent it from being hijacked by hoodlums.
“They (police authorities) cited insecurity as their reason (for stopping the protest). They said it would be risky because the protest could be hijacked,” he said.
Mr Nwigbo said, despite the Tuesday incident, the union members would gather again as planned on Wednesday, although he did not say if they would step outside for the protest.
He said he had requested the police authorities in the state to increase the number of their personnel to guarantee security for Wednesday’s planned protest.
The police spokesperson in Enugu State, Daniel Ndukwe, did not respond to calls and a text message seeking his comments.
