No government will deliberately inflict hardship on its citizens, says Governor Duoye Diri, as the Nigeria Labour Congress urges President Bola Tinubu to “let the poor breathe.”

Mr Diri made the assertion while addressing workers in Yenagoa on Tuesday, during the nationwide protest organised by NLC.

NLC had mobilised workers for a nationwide protest against the economic hardship faced by Nigerians.

The Bayelsa governor said the solution to the current hardship in the country was the immediate revamp of the value of the naira.

He promised to work with the state Head of Service and the organised labour to evolve measures towards cushioning the effect of the current economic hardship.

In his address, the chairman of the Bayelsa council of NLC, Barnabas Simon, said the ailing economy was caused by the removal of fuel subsidies and a spike in the exchange rate.

”This has made life quite unbearable for workers and the ordinary citizens at large. The spiralling inflation in the cost of basic food, goods and services has made survival to become a herculean task for many families,” he said.

The protesting workers walked from Lambert Eradiri Drive through Melford Okilo Road and terminated at the Bayelsa Government House.

The workers sang solidarity songs and carried placards with inscriptions such as, ‘Politicians! Let the Poor Breathe’, ‘End Hunger and Poverty’, and ‘We Reject IMF Policies’, among others.

(NAN)