TUC replies Tinubu, says 'it's our right to protest'

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has responded to a dig by President Bola Tinubu where he told the labour unions to stop their protests and wait for 2027 to join the political process.

The President at the inauguration of the Lagos Red Line project on Thursday told Labour unions to maintain peace as they are not the only voice for Nigerians.

But reacting to the President’s remarks on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, the President of the TUC, Festus Osifo, said members of his union are not politicians and that they have the right to protest.

“I listened to that comment yesterday where he said that we should wait for 2027 if we want to contest for elections. I could speak for Trade Union Congress, we are not politicians, we are unionists, it is our right to protest – it is a fundamental right of every single Nigerian,” Osifo said.

“So we don’t have issues with protests, when need be, people will exercise their rights and people must protest. In terms of waiting till 2027 to enter into politics, I don’t think that is something we could dabble into because I as an individual I am not a card-carrying member of any political party.

“What I am interested in is the welfare of my members and indeed the entire Nigerian masses. So, what the president said for me is alien to us because the right to protest and the right to strike is that of the workers.

“There are condition precedents, for the fact that you are going on protest or strike, there are some things that led to it, those fundamental issues must be addressed.”