The Nigeria Labor Congress (NLC) has urged President Bola Tinubu’s government to address hunger and economic hardship immediately.

NLC president Joe Ajaero said this when addressing workers during a peaceful protest from its headquarters to the National Assembly on Tuesday in Abuja.

“We are here for a peaceful protest. We are here to tell the federal government that Nigerians are hungry. The protest is to make Mr President know how Nigerians feel. We know where it is pinching us.

“We are also here to register our complaints before Nigerians about the level of suffering and hunger in the land. We are here to call on the federal government to immediately address the issue of hunger in the country.

“There is nobody that does not know that bag of rice is over N70,000 or more, we can not even buy Indomie, even bread is out of reach and with N30,000 minimum wages, if you eat a loaf of bread every day, you will be spending over N40,000,” he said.

Mr Ajaero expressed worry over why the government keeps reneging on most of the palliatives it promised to provide to ameliorate the pain of workers since the removal of the fuel subsidy on May 29, 2023.

The NLC leader said the primary purpose of governance had always been the welfare and security of the citizens. He said the government must live up to its responsibility of implementing the welfare provisions in chapter two of the Constitution.

He added that among the key welfare provisions is the generation of employment opportunities for citizens through massive investment in agriculture and value-added manufacturing.

The NLC president noted that to address hunger, the government should immediately provide subsidies to farmers to boost agricultural production and food security.

Mr Ajaero, however, urged the government to open all food storage silos and enforce equitable distribution across the country. He also said efforts must be geared towards fixing abandoned factories, reviving our local production, and patronising made-in-Nigeria goods and services.

He noted that fixing the four refineries has become germane and an urgent national priority.