The much-hyped street protest called by the Joint Action Front (JAF) and Sowore Omoyele’s Revolution Now group have failed in Lagos as the membership-based Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) they had relied upon for the mass protest did not show up.
This is coming almost 24 hours after the Lagos People’s Parliament and the Defend Lagos Coalition comprising over 80 CSOs addressed a media conference cautioning against any street protest in Lagos given the volatility of the city.
The Lagos press conference also coincided with another addressed in Abuja by yet another coalition of 65 CSOs, under the umbrella of the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations Forum, announcing their decision to pull out of the nationwide labour union’s protest scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.
Monday’s planned protest billed to take off from under the Ojuelegba bridge in Lagos had a disappointing attendance of a scanty number of protesters hesitantly carrying placards with various inscriptions showing their displeasure at the current economic uncertainties across the country.
Today’s poorly attended protest was held against the warning issued by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Adegoke Fayoade, on Sunday.
In the same vein, the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has backed out of the planned protests by the Nigeria Labour Congress. At a press briefing, led by its President, Festus Osifo, and other leaders, the TUC advised the Federal Government to begin the importation of food and fix a new minimum wage to mitigate the soaring cost of living in the country.
