Rivers NLC orders sit-at-home over fuel, naira scarcity

At Nigeria Labor Congress (NLC)Rivers State Chapter, has told all civil servants in the state to sit at the front if the scarcity of fuel and naira continues from Monday.

The NLC chairman in the state, Beatrice Itubo, gave the directive while briefing journalists in the state on Sunday, the Sun newspaper reported.

“We have announced a stay at home for all workers from Monday until further notice if the fuel crisis and the crazy increase in transport fares continue,” said Mrs. Itubo.

Mrs. Itubo, who is the governorship candidate of the Labor Party in Rivers, said the action was not directed at anyone or the state government.

“Anyone or organization that questions or dismisses employees who follow the sit-at-home statement will have Rivers State NLC to contend with.

“Normally, if we have a government that listens, I have no business embarking on this journey. We cannot suffer because of this misrule.

“We are reacting to the situation we found ourselves in as Nigerian workers,” Mrs. Itubo said, adding that it was one of the things that spurred her to run for the office of state governor.

they The directive came hours after the Labor Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, urged Nigerians to be patient with Central Bank of Nigeria on the currency exchange policy which he said Nigerians would benefit from.

Mr. Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, stated this in a post on Twitter on Sunday.

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Many Nigerians have criticized the CBN and the federal government over the policy, which has led to difficulties due to the shortage of redesigned naira notes.

Nigerians, including Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, have explained the policy is “anti-people”.

Amidst these policy difficulties, President Muhammadu Buhari, on Friday, urged citizens to give seven days to resolve the cash crunch throughout the country.

Nigeria’s Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, on Friday, faulted wisdom and mourn the hardships caused by the people.

The background

For weeks, Nigerians have been rushing to meet the CBN deadline to scrap the old naira notes – N200, N500 and N1, 000.

There are long queues at ATMs across the country. Point of Sales (POS) centers have adopted a desperate situation to charge exorbitant fees.

Scarcity of naira has exacerbated the fuel crisis in Nigeria. The prices of goods and services continue to rise every day.

In response to the public outcry, the CBN expanded deadline from January 31 to February 10.

Many Nigerians still remain wary of ATM centers with long queues despite the extension when POS operators no longer have cash to meet the demands of customers. Those who manage to have cash charge exorbitant fees for such transactions leaving Nigerians stranded and helpless.