The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has declared a nationwide strike for government employees due to fuel and cash shortages in the country.
The NLC president, Joe Ajaero, stated on Wednesday that workers could not access cash to pay for transportation to work or to buy food for their families. He also criticized the petroleum industry’s pricing irregularities.
Mr. Ajaero stated that the strike will begin next Wednesday.
He also directed NLC affiliate unions to be ready to picket at all Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) branches across the country.
“By Wednesday next week, all CBN branches will be picketed, and workers have been directed to stay at home as well because people cannot eat, workers cannot go to the office, and we have been pushed to the wall,” Mr. Ajaero said.
“We have decided to take control of our destiny, and we have mobilized our workers for this exercise,” he added.
The CBK is expected to begin releasing more old notes to commercial banks on Thursday, according to the Punch website.
The move is expected to put an end to months of hardship for Nigerians as a result of the controversial CBN note redesign policy, which caused a severe shortage of old and new naira notes across the country.
