The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) on Tuesday said they will drive the Labour Party (LP) candidate Peter Obi campaign to ensure he emerge the next president of Nigeria come 2023.
Speaking during their separate address at the auditorium of Pascal Bafyau Labour House to mark the 10th anniversary lecture of late labour leader, Pascal Bafau, both presidents of NLC and TUC, Comrades Ayuba Wabba, and Quadri Olaleye said the LP candidate is among the finest Nigerians as well as the first to be adopted by labour.
According to Comrade Wabba, “NLC is solidly behind Labour Party and will fully mobilise to ensure the victory of the party come 2023 general elections.”
He also recalled that workers’ unions have realised that strikes and protests alone cannot change the narratives in Nigeria, especially regarding to workers’ welfare and fair treatment to the working people, hence labour must venture fully into politics and work hard to support candidates whose mantra will make life better for their members and Nigerians at large.
His TUC counterpart, Comrade Quadri Olaleye, said that Mr Obi is a face among the presidential candidates which labour unions were pleased and are ready to work with.
He said the entire labour movement has accepted, adopted and will support, and ensure workers massively vote for him in the 2023 presidential elections.
The TUC President further said Labour Party is stronger, one and formidable, adding that the party has a widespread structure, as there is a worker and a member of either TUC and NLC in every family across Nigeria.
He insisted that Labour Party is the only party for Nigerian workers.
Obi in his address said his visit to the leadership of the two labour centres was not to campaign but for a courtesy call; to honour the Organised Labour on whose party and interest he is seeking Nigerians vote in the 2023 general elections.
“My commitment is to move Nigeria from consumption to production and you can’t talk about production without labour. Labour is the engine of production, capital and machine can do anything but labour is what makes it work. Because labour is the greatest contributor to production, it has to be properly remunerated.
“I don’t need to tell you how bad things are in this country today. If you are on wages, today Nigerians spend 100 percent of their wages on just feeding. So many don’t even know where their next meal will come from. They pay to train their children only for them finish school and stay at home without work.
“These are issues we need to discuss about. Nobody can be president without sitting down with the labour organisation to decide the future of Nigeria.
“We can nolonger have a situation where the leaders are here and workers are there. They must sit on the same table and talk. That is the beginning of the solution, that is what is happening all over the world.
“Nigeria is not a producing country. The collective effect of what we are suffering today is bad leadership. We have a leadership that concentrates on sharing. So you have to move from sharing formula to production formula.
“This is a country of 200 million people sitting on 923,000 square kilometers of land. They can’t feed themselves, they can’t export anything.
“Total Nigeria’s export including oil is under $2 billion for 200 million population. A similar country, not a first world country, one with the same tragectory with Nigeria in the year 2000, Vetnam, sitting on 331,000 square kilometers of land, a third of Nigeria’s land space and 100 million population, with half of Nigeria’s population, their total earnings last year was $ 312 billion,” he said.
