Murtala Ajaka, the 2023 governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, in Kogi state has joined some well meaning Nigeria urging Organised Labour in the country to shelve its planned strike.
The two major labour unions in the country, Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, and Trade Union Congress, TUC, gave a 14-day warning strike to to the federal government on February 9.
The planned strike, according to the workers was to press home their demand on the government to intervene in the current hardship in the caused by the high price of food items and other households commodities.
The ultimatum has expired last week amidst apprehension among Nigerians that the workers could embark on the strike this week, with attendant consequences for the country.
In a statement on Sunday, Akaka called on Labour to give President Bola Ahmed Tinubu enough time to sort out the economic problems in the country.
He said going on the planned strike will worsen the current insecurity in the country as it may be hijacked by hoodlums to unleash mayhem.
According to the SDP candidate, the rich and the poor are suffering due to the situation, but insist that strike will not solve the problem, as it will take time to revamp the economy.
“The decision to go on strike if not revisited could trigger precipitous consequences in the forms of exacerbation of the current quagmire and an escalation of criminality and attendant insecurity which are predictable recipes for the breakdown of civil order.
“This is due to systemic institutional adjustments by the government that are geared towards revamping our abyss-bound economy. It is a global experience that the pain we confront now is the immediate shock that logically attends to such redemptive economic policies.
“Truly, all Nigerians including my humble self are groaning under the excruciating torment of this harsh existential reality but on the flip side, it is a call to patriotic understanding so that our reactions do not undermine the unity and security of the country.
“I therefore plead with Organised Labour to exercise exemplary patience, demobilise their members from the imminent industrial action and grant the government the benefit of trust at least till the 29th of May, 2024 when this administration would be one calendar year post-inauguration. This I seek in the national interest
