Kogiflame
*Calls on FG, Labour, NARD to resolve grievances peacefully
Kehinde Akinpelu ,Ilorin
Chairman, Committee on Human Rights And Social Justice, International Peace and Governance Council of African Continental Chapter of the United International Peace and Governance Council of Africa (UNIPGC) Africa, Barrister Muritala Sambo, has pleaded with the Nigeria Labour Congress, the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) and Civil Society Organisation (CSO) and the National Association of Resident Doctors to avoid further strikes and protests.
He said protests and strikes are inimical to Nigeria’s growth, adding that they also distort industrial harmony, socio-economic growth and national development.
The Peace Ambassador appealed that they should resolve amicably with the Federal Government led by President Bola Tinubu.
He also advised the government to be proactive to nip future grievances and agitations in the bud by preventing the causative factors.
He spoke with journalists on Sunday on his confirmation as Chairman, Committee on Human Rights And Social Justice, IPGC by the United Nations International Peace and Governance Council of Africa during the International Peace & Security Summit in Morocco.
He also appealed to the government to put formidable strategies in place to deliver government measures to cushion the harsh impact of the removal of subsidies on fuel and other pro-people policies and progammes of government.
Sambo said “It is divined that there should be some people among you who will be encouraging others to do good and forbid them from doing bad. This is also the rationale behind opposition to the government. Incessant strikes and colourless demonstrations to check the government in Nigeria are becoming familiar jokes to the government, undue vacation to workers and it irritates masses as it had no effect on the cause of the agitation. These I have checked over a period and I see no cause for such steps.
“Since the pandemic, I have not actually heard of palliatives that reach the target audience. Several billions of naira were used as palliative with the calculation that it will reach the masses but unfortunately, it doesn’t reach the target audience as expected. It wasn’t because the government doesn’t want to reach out to the target audience but there is no system to ensure that.
“Take, for example, the palliatives to cushion the effect of the hardship of subsidy removal is what Labour is charging the government to do instead of insisting on a working system. It is only in Nigeria government employed twenty persons to do the work of a single person and all of them are clamouring for an increase in salary. Is it not funny when a labour called for a strike against a two-month-old President.”
