FCT has withdrawn permission given to the organised Labour to use Eagle Square in Abuja for their May Day celebration
By Emma Ogbuehi
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has withdrawn permission given to the organised labour to use Eagle Square in Abuja for their May Day celebration, barely three days to the International Workers’ Day which comes up on May 1.
The secretary-general of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC ), Comrade Emmanuel Ugboaja, who made the disclosure on Friday during a pre-Mayday lecture held at Pascal Bafyau Labour House, said the withdrawal was contained in a letter sent to the labour centre on Thursday by the FCT minister through his administration’s agency.
According to him, the minister explained in the letter that the reasons for the withdrawal was due to preparations at Eagle Square ahead of the May 29 inauguration of the President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
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Comrade Ugboaja however dismissed the explanation as unconvincing, stressing that the development was a pointer towards uncertain future for the struggle of Nigerian working class.
He said, though the withdrawal has no implication on workers, they should brace up for war cry on Mayday and prepare for the worst.
Ugboaja said, “They have withdrawn the permission and they don’t want to talk to us, the Minister of FCT has withdrawn our permission to use Eagle Square for the May Day and clearly, he is speaking for his government.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 the workers. So, they don’t appreciate the work the workers have put over the years and we will not fair to appreciate ourselves.
“The withdrawal has no implication on workers, the May Day 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’ll 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 have always held Mayday in the Eagle Square.
“The minister of FCT through his agency sent us a letter yesterday. It’s a Workers Day. We had sought the permission to use a venue and it was granted to us and later withdrawn. So, it has nothing to do with the minister of labour If the withdrawal of our permission to use the Eagle Square is a snippet of what they (workers) should expect, we are ready. The way we have adjusted to it will prove to them that we are ready for whatever they are going to throw at us”, he added.
He asked workers to be prepared for the worst, stressing that the “indicators don’t point towards any rosy future if we don’t struggle. So, it’s going to be a war cry on May 1st, just for us to brace up to take the challenges we see coming forward”.