No government will deliberately inflict hardship on its citizens, says Gov. Duoye Diri of Bayelsa State.
Diri made the assertion while addressing workers in Yenagoa on Tuesday, during the nationwide protest organised by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
Recall that the NLC had mobilised workers for a nationwide protest against the economic hardship being faced by Nigerians.
The governor said that the solution to the current hardship in the country was in the immediate restoration of the value of 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, Bayelsa Council of NLC, Mr Barnabas Simon, said that the ailing economy was caused by the removal of fuel subsidy and spike in exchange rate.
”This has made life quite unbearable for workers and the ordinary citizens at large.
”The spiralling inflation in 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’, ‘We Reject IMF Policies’ among others.