The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, weekend, dismissed allegation by the Department of State Service, DSS, that the trade unions are part of the groups mobilizing to create violence and distablise the country ahead of 2023 general elections.

Recall that the DSS had recently claimed trade unions were part of a sinister plan to spike violence in different parts of the country, particularly the north-central region.

The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, had earlier faulted the claims, berating the DSS for such dubious and unsubstantiated assertion.

Speaking at media briefing to inaugurate its South West political commission, President of the TUC, Quadri Olaleye, insisted that Labour movement cannot be part of any plot to distabilise the country, but part of every genuine effort forward.

According to him, “I am worried and feel concern because they mentioned the labour movement, and I have also read the message from our brother, the NLC president and I feel it’s very necessary to respond. On this note, I want to employ the DSS to do its proper vetting and be able to provide the true information to the government and to the masses.

“We can never be involved in anything that would create violence in the country, we are only mobilizing our members across the country, to be fully-involved and participate in the forthcoming general elections in the country, to be able to elect good leaders for our country.

“But if they are referring to the mobilisation of the TUC towards 2023 to educate our members on the role they should play in politics on everybody to have their PVC ready to elect the best candidates to change and move the country forward and ensure that the working class are properly cared for, I am telling you that TUC will continue to mobilise.

“It is always forward ever for us and backwards never. We will move to the next part of the country and do the same. And very soon we are going to have a road show to educate the masses and we have never had a road show without carrying the department of the DSS along in our plan.”

Commissioning the South West zone comprising Lagos, Ogun, Ekiti, Oyo, Osun, and Ondo states with each states having five TUC members, Olaleye said among others, ”We want a situation whereby in 2023 elections workers will be fully mobilised to go to out and elect the best candidate for the agenda.

“All our deliberations so far have shown that we are the real grassroots. We cut across towns, local governments, states, and the national level. We have been the instrument of putting rare people in the elective position in the country.

“So if we have decided this time around to participate, we will play a very key role in making sure that whoever that is going to take an elective position is properly screened and it’s someone that is pro-working class.

“In the past we used to have the upper, middle, and the lower class, but today, I think the classes are divided into two. It’s either you are there or you are with us at the lower level, and this cannot continue,”

He argued that the lukewarm attitude of Nigerian workers in the past general elections had impoverished them and put them in a pitiable condition with slave wage over the years.

Olaleye said the commission would among other things; “sensitize workers and indeed Nigerians on the need to get their Personal Voters’ Card, PVC, ready for the general elections. Part of the responsibilities is that the commission will roll-out agenda that is sellable. This time, we will make use of our numbers.”

He assured of TUC readiness to mobilize members, the Nigerian workers as well as the masses from the grassroots to change the political narrative of the country to better the lots of the citizens

He lamented that after several years of Nigerian existence, “the country is still in the struggle for good governance while seeking better welfare and decent workplaces for Nigerian workers.” (Vanguard)

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