Niger State government is supporting the state chapter of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) in its protest over alleged anti-people policies instituted by the federal government.
The state’s Deputy Governor, Yakubu Garba who joined the Nigeria Labour Congress match protest from Niger State Labour House to the State House of Assembly, stated that the organized labour was not part of the policy formulators and must be allowed to check the actions of government at all levels.
He said: “Labour is not against the government. If there is any sincere driver of government policies, it is organised labour. But labourers are not leaders who make policies. So, any policy that government would formulate should have a human face so that the masses do not suffer.”
Garba who noted that the state government is collaborating with the state House of Assembly to provide opportunities that would cushion the effects of the fuel subsidy on citizens of the state, also said that the best way for the federal government to address the hardship being faced by citizens is an upward review of salaries rather than temporary palliative measures.
The Speaker of the Niger State House of Assembly, Barrister Abdulmalik Sarkin-Daji who also addressed the protesting workers, said the state assembly is in support of the protest because of the untold hardship the removal of the subsidy has caused the citizens.
Daji also said that the NLC should be involved in the distribution of palliative to poor Nigerians.
