Workers in the informal sector of the economy have shown support for the planned two-day national mass protest by organised labour and civil society organisations, urging the government to put an end to the hardship the citizens are currently battling with.
The group, under the aegis of the Federation of Informal Workers’ Organisations of Nigeria (FIWON), in a statement, lamented that workers in the sector have been the worst victims of the policies of government, particularly since the COVID-19 period in 2020, during the lockdowns, which resulted in terrible hunger, suffering and death.
The union alleged that palliatives meant for the citizens were diverted to politicians’ homes, while the cashless policy imposed on Nigerians in 2023 also destroyed many small businesses and livelihoods.
FIWON President, Frances Onokpe and General Secretary, Gbenga Komolafe, urging government to end the hunger and suffering in the country, demanded that government should repair all local refineries within the next six months, even as it sought the reversal of fuel pump prices to pre-29 May prices.
The unionists urged the government to stop and reverse the free fall of the naira with immediate effect.
According to it, the free market floating of the naira has benefited only a few rich people with dollars while making goods and services more expensive for poor people.
It urged the government to halt the restriction of movement of food items from the North to the South.
This, it said, worsens food scarcity in the South and makes it impossible for farmers in the North to sell their produce and gain revenue to buy other essentials apart from food.
The union urged that the social safety nets targeting workers in the informal economy must be disbursed through organisations of the working people themselves to avoid a few government officials “stealing palliative measures designed to help the working poor and vulnerable Nigerians.”
The organisation called for the provision of free and quality education as a right.
Among other demands, FIWON lamented that universal access to quality public health services and health insurance schemes is not working in the informal sector because of irregular income to pay.
“Now, the policy of increasing the price of fuel by more than 300 per cent combined with the policy of floating the naira exchange value against foreign currencies resulting in gross devaluation of the naira has also resulted in food famine while the cost of other essentials like transportation, health care, drugs, building materials have more than trebled in less than one year. Public and private schools have increased fees steeply while drugs are becoming unaffordable for the sick.
“Tax the rich and reduce the large amounts paid to public officers, to stop hunger and fund social services, government officials’ current pay should be reduced by 50% while super rich people should be made to pay more tax to free resources to take care of social services. Stop demolition of public spaces and work clusters where informal people work, without providing affordable alternatives,” it said.
