The Nigerian labour movement this Monday night, June 3, 2024, raised the alarm that armed soldiers have cordoned off the venue of the Labour leaders’ meeting with the Secretary for the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senato George Akume.
They are “set to intimidate, coerce, attack and abduct labour leaders invited for negotiation by the SGF,” the Labour and Civil Society Front (LCSF) alleged in a statement signed by the Head, Coordinating Secretariat, Olubori Obafemi.
According to the statement, “The information reaching the leadership of the Labour and Civil Society Front, LCSF, the umbrella body for the coalition between the organised Labour and Pro People Civil Society Movement, now, 7pm today is that Armed Soldiers on the order of the Presidency have already Condoned off Labour Leaders at the office of the Secretary to the Federal Government, SGF, venue of the meeting between the leadership of Labour and Federal Government.
“The motive of the armed military operatives for gathering around and condoning off defenceless Labour Leaders at the negotiation meeting, to us, is very suspicious, intimidating and coercive in nature as there was no basis for military involvement in the civil negotiation between Labour Leaders and a team of federal government officials led by the Secretary to the Federal Government, SGF
“Therefore, we the Leadership of the alliance between organised Labour and Civil Society Movement by the mandate of the popular masses of Nigeria hereby demand that the armed Soldiers deployed by the Federal Government to intimidating, coerce and possibly attack and abduct Leaders of the NLC and TUC at the negotiation meeting convened by the SGF should immediately vacate the venue of the civil engagement between government and Labour.
“Any attempt by the intruding military operatives to continue to occupy the Venue of the meeting or eventually harm Labour Leaders at the office of the SGF will mean no Activist or Nigerian is expected to ever again trust the Bola Ahmed Tinubu regime, as the #EndSars Massacre by armed Soldiers in Lekki Lagos under the watch of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is still very fresh in our memories.”
