We won’t end protests –Labour

The raging protests over the removal of subsidy on fuel by the President Goodluck Jonathan administration entered its second day with the leadership of the organised labour telling the Federal Government that the protests would not fizzle out very soon as anticipated.

The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Mr. Abdulwahed Omar, and his Trade Union Congress counterpart, Mr. Peter Esele, said while addressing protesters at the Berger Round About, Abuja, that the protesters would sustain the tempo of the protest, contrary to the expectation of the government and its operatives.

They urged the protesters to sustain the demonstrations, stressing that the struggle for the reversal of the increase in the pump price of fuel would take a long time.

The turnout of people on Tuesday was massive and more than the turn out on the first day of the mass rally on Monday.

Although the Police blocked the protesters briefly at the Herbert Macaulay Way by Rabat Junction, they acceded to the sustained demand of Labour and the CSOs to proceed with the rally.

Omar enjoined the people to be resolute in their demand for a reversal of the pump price of fuel to N65, saying the Federal Government needed sustained pressure to accede to the popular demand of the people.

He said the mass rallies, demonstrations and street protests would go on peacefully until a reversal of the government’s decision was achieved.

He told the demonstrators that the government had not been telling Nigerians the truth about the issue of the subsidy.

He insisted that the government was left with no choice but to listen to the popular demand of the people.

He said, “This protest must be peaceful, don’t throw stones at the police or any other person. The leadership of Labour and civil society organisations will lead and the people will follow.

“They said we are going to get tired but we can tell them that we are not going to. This is not a one kilometre race; we will go slowly and gather strength as we go into the demonstrations.

“You have trekked with us yesterday and you are here again; nobody gave you anything, yet we have more people in this gathering than yesterday.

“We must continue to mount this pressure because our leaders don’t know any other thing more than to be pressed. We will continue to protest until the country becomes too terrible for them and then they will listen to us.”