Workers in Cross River State have dissociated themselves from the 1st August 2024 planned nationwide protest.
The workers said they don’t want a repeat of what happened in October 2020 during the #EndSARS protest.
The workers say history has shown that nationwide protest is causing the state more rather than helping and have resolved to dialogue instead of joining the street protests
Speaking during a joint press conference in Calabar on Wednesday, 31st July 2024, Comrade Gregory Ulayi, Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Cross River State Chapter, said, “Yes, it is not easy with anyone anywhere. People need to express their grievances – we know it is constitutional but Cross Riverians and Labour Unions in Cross River State, we know what we’ve passed through in the last #EndSARS activities.
“As NLC Chairman and on behalf of workers in Cross River State, we say if you want to come out tomorrow to do a protest, which we’re not part of, please do it, let it not be a violent protest.
“You’re on your own because as workers in Cross River State, we’re not coming out to protest tomorrow because we know what we’ve passed through. If you’re coming out as an individual, please identify yourself to the security agencies.
“As such, we’re dissociating ourselves from the planned protest of tomorrow in Cross River State for us not to suffer what happened a long time ago.”
In his remark, Comrade Monday Ogbodum, Trade Union Congress (TUC) Chairman in Cross River State, said the people planning the protest should give the government time to answer to their demands rather than taking to the streets.
He said: “Yes, protest is our constitutional right but then, do we guarantee security? We must do everything possible to stop protests in Cross River State.
“When the Organised Labour want to protest, they come out and tell the government and security and we have a face, so that if anything is vandalised, we’ll be held responsible. But this protest is from faceless people, they should come forth.
“The people that want to protest should stay put and give government a chance to work.”
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Speaking also, Dr MacFarlane Ejah, Chairman of the Coalition of Civil Society Networks, said the issues at stake which include hunger, lack of governance and others, are very clear but canvassed for a town hall meeting to solve matters of public interest rather than a protest.
“Issues at stake are very clear; hunger, lack of governance, etc, and we can’t lie about that. There is hunger, there is crisis, and it brings us to history and what is history, reflecting on the past and the present to build the future.
“Protest for me is a public disagreement of the people in what the people think the government have failed to do. One big mistake we keep making is to think that people we place in government know everything – they do not know everything and we need to help them.
With what happened a few years ago, we say no to street protests. Instead, we call for a town hall meeting. If the protest is to make even the poor poorer, then that protest is demonic.”
On his part, Comrade Emmanuel Olayi, Chairman of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Cross River State Chapter, said the youths have chosen dialogue instead of protest.
“We’ve deliberately taken steps to engage ourselves and we’ve taken a team to dialogue on the protest and we have done this across the three Senatorial Districts. We all accepted that the challenges as put are true but we are taking a dialogue instead of a protest.
“For us as young persons in Cross River State, we’re privileged to have a Governor that listens. We decided that we wouldn’t protest, we would dialogue.
“We’ve all agreed that the idea is straight, even if the constitution says we have a right to protest but checking history, we’ve declared that every youth in Cross River State will not protest.
“We’ve gathered all the young persons to know their problems in Cross River State and we’re sending that data to the Governor,” Olayi said.
Heads of NLC, TUC, NYCN, CSOs, students and other unions, during a joint press conference against protest in Calabar, Cross River State. 31st July 2024. (Photo: Frank Ulom/Converseer)
Converseer reports that the joint press conference was also attended by several unions, including students’ unions, entertainment unions, drivers’ unions, and women’s unions, who took turns to speak against the planned protest.
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