S’East youth group Declare support to NLC nationwide protests

The Coalition of South East Youth Leaders (COSEYL) has thrown its weight behind the nationwide protest embarked on by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) saying it has mobilised at least 2 million persons in the region to join the demonstration.

TrackNews Media reports that the NLC and the Trades Union Congress (TUC) launched an industrial action and nationwide mass protests following the hardship occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy.

The decision followed the inability of the Federal Government to meet the demands of organised labour as the two-day meeting between the duo ended in a deadlock on Tuesday.

NLC and TUC are demanding palliatives and other measures that would ameliorate the pangs of the fuel subsidy removal on Nigerians.

Supporting the NLC, COSEYL in a statement co-signed by its President General, Goodluck Ibem and
Publicity Secretary, Okey Nwaoru, said its members were in full support, stressing that the protest became important following the unbearable hardship being faced by Nigerians.

The statement partly read, “This protest is pertinent because Nigeria’s mortality rate has increased by 60% as a result of the suffering and hardship brought upon Nigerians by President Bola Tinubu who upon assumption of office on 29 May, 2023 unilaterally removed the fuel subsidy without any provision to make petroleum products affordable by Nigerians.

“Nigerians and their economy depend solely on fuel and other petroleum products to function and any decision or policy that increases the price of petroleum products will hit hard on Nigerians.

We, therefore, pledge our full support to the protest in other to save Nigerians from extinction as a result of the hardship and suffering they are currently facing.”