Barely three days to the celebration of the International Workers’ Day on May 1, authorities of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have withdrawn the permission given to the organised labour to use the Eagle Square in Abuja for their celebration.
The development was disclosed to journalists in Abuja yesterday during a pre-Mayday lecture held at Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC ) headquarters.
NLC secretary-general, Comrade Emmanuel Ugboaja, said the withdrawal was contained in a letter sent to the labour centre on Thursday by the FCT minister.
According to him, the minister explained in the letter that the reasons for the withdrawal bordered on preparations at Eagle Square ahead of the May 29 inauguration of the president-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
But comrade Ugboaja described the reason as utra-lame and noted that the development was a pointer towards a no rosy future for the struggles of the Nigerian working class.
He said though the withdrawal had no implication on workers, they should brace up for a war cry on May Day and prepare for the worst.
He said, “They have withdrawn the permission and they don’t want to talk to us, the minister of FCT has withdrawn our permission to use Eagle Square for the May Day and clearly he is speaking for his government, it means the government doesn’t want to address workers, so they don’t appreciate the work the workers have put over the years and we will not fail to appreciate ourselves.
“The withdrawal has no implication on workers, the Mayday will hold but not in Eagle Square but the workers will mark their day from the NLC to every nook and cranny of Nigeria.
“The reason they gave was that they were renovating the Eagle Square for usage on May 29 and we find it to be ultra-lame, this is not the first time there will be an inauguration we have had more than five to seven inaugurations in the past two decades and we had always held May Day in the Eagle Square,” he said.
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