Two major opposition parties, the Peoples Democratic Party and Labour Party, have thrown their weight behind the two-day protest declared by the Nigeria Labour Congress.
This was even as the ruling All Progressives Congress expressed concern that the protest may be hijacked.
In separate interviews, the opposition parties told The PUNCH on Monday that the economic hardship is enough to make the masses join labour to kick against the insensitivity of the Federal Government.
The NLC President, Joe Ajaero, had warned that there would be a total shutdown of the economy if any of their protesting members were attacked during Tuesday’s protest.
His threat also comes few days after the Department of State Services appealed to the labour to shelve the protest with a premonition that a fifth columnist could hijack it to cause chaos in the country.
Speaking with our correspondent, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Abdullahi Ibrahim, said the people are always ready to resist any anti-people policy.
Ibrahim said, “Labour has always been consistent in terms of expressing their misgivings because they are the ones interfacing with the workers. So it is not going to be the first time. I doubt if there is any government since Independence that has not contended with the protest or expression of agitation by labour.
“So the NLC is justified. The PDP agrees with labour. The reality on the ground defies human comprehension. You cannot expect Nigerians to fold their hands because it is an APC government that is in place. The NLC stormed the streets when it was the PDP. They did the same during the military regime. I don’t see any rationale for anybody to think the NLC is out to frustrate this government.
“The people have never been worse off as we are seeing it today. Purchasing power in the country has declined to an all-time worse. The inflation rate is also high. “Everybody should come out for this protest, including labour, civil society organisations and traders. The PDP is absolutely in support of this protest.”
The spokesman for the Labour Party Campaign Organisation, Yunusa Tanko, also shared his sentiment when he emphasised that the people have a right to vent anger to frustration to certain policies that are anti-people.
“Obviously, some policies of this government are anti-people. We are talking about a government that promised people palliatives and failed to provide them. Is it not this same government that promised civil servant increment of salary? The people are yet to see it.
“The question is how long will this government continue to use the instrumentality of law to stifle the voices of the masses? For us in LP, the protest is justifiable. In fact, the NLC needs to take it further by demanding Constitutional review including that of the Electoral Act reform that is not giving us the right kind of leadership we want.
“Because of this, INEC is still under the whims and caprices of the Federal Government hence they cannot independently conduct elections. The people are tired and definitely have the right to speak up,” Tanko stated.
However, the ruling APC expressed concern that the protest could go awry once it is hijacked.
The National Publicity Director of the APC, Bala Ibrahim, said President Bola Tinubu was not unmindful of the pains of the masses, which he personally addressed in a series of his broadcasts.
Ibrahim said, “The beauty of democracy is that it allows people to register their dismay or dislike where they feel the government is not doing well. But there is a proviso. In doing that, they must know that the right to protest is theirs. But that right stops where other people’s own begins.
“In a situation like this, the government has been honest enough to admit that indeed there is hardship in the land and people are going through distress. But circumstances necessitate the introduction of certain reforms with a view to getting certain solutions. It is like someone who has a fracture or dislocation. When he comes to fix it, there will be pain everywhere.
“I agree the country is in a state of unease. But the government is not insensitive to the feelings of the people just as the president admitted. Tinubu has made a broadcast where he said he felt the pains of the people from Lagos to Kano and every nook and cranny of the country. We don’t want this protest to be hijacked.
“The NLC should have a rethink. Let’s not do something that will be injurious simply because we want to play to the gallery. This protest is ill-timed. We implore them to give the FG a benefit of doubt and see what is being done. But certainly, things are being done that are in line with the yearning of the people.”