NLC, TUC Urges FG to Address Unemployment
The Nigeria Labour Congress NLC, and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, has said with the rise in unemployment, the nation will not be able to tackle its security challenges.
The statement was made by the Presidents of NLC and TUC, Ayuba Wabba and Quadiri Olaleye, during the 40th-anniversary celebration of the Labour Writers Association of Nigeria, LAWAN, in Lagos.
The groups noted that if the unemployment rate is addressed, then addressing insecurity will be a workover as most of the youths who are perpetrators of the acts will be engaged. The duo called on the Federal Government to do all within its powers to address the high insecurity rate to return the country to normalcy.
Speaking on them entitled “Growing Insecurity and Unemployment: The Way Forward,” the NLC president, Wabba, noted that the theme was dear to the heart of labour, as it is one of the significant challenges the country is facing.
He stressed that unemployment is a time bomb that needs to be attended to urgently. Wabba said: “There is no difference between unemployment and insecurity. It is a fact and has been established.
“On the recent programme we held in addressing precarious work and making jobs available for our teeming youths, decent jobs are significant because, without decent jobs, there will be no security and social progress.
”That is why the Sustainable Development Goal, SDG 8.7, has been tied to having decent jobs.”
The Labour leader commended its counterpart, the TUC, for always partnering with them to address some of society’s challenges. He added that with recent happenings, organised labour needed more collaboration and sensitisation of its rank and file to be on the same page and address some of the ills.
”This is service to humanity for making our voices to be heard. When you do the right thing, you find passion.
“We will continue to work together to address the various issues affecting our society, which we must put before the public domain. This event is about humanity, about society and doing what is right,” Wabba said.
On his part, the TUC President, Quadiri Olalere, urged the government at all levels to do more in tackling unemployment. He stressed that if that were not addressed, every effort at fighting insecurity would remain a mirage.
