The Nigeria Labour Congress in a Christmas message issued on Friday in Abuja said Nigerians are currently going through “dark times”.

The message which was signed by the national president of the congress, Ayuba Wabba, decried the poor living conditions of the workers in the country.

The union also encouraged Christians to “resonate the light of hope birthed through Jesus Christ”.

The message partly reads, “This Christmas, we urge Nigerian workers and people to resonate in the light of hope birthed by the love of God conveyed through the birth of His son Jesus Christ. It is the illumination of this hope that inspires confidence in our hearts that however dark our night as a country might be, light would certainly emerge and shine at the end of our tunnel.

“Many Nigerian workers and ordinary people are currently going through the dark tunnel of soaring inflation marked by very steep increases in the prices of essential goods and services. Many Nigerian families are going through the dark tunnel of general apprehension about their security and personal safety as criminals and terrorists hold sway in many parts of the country looting, raping, kidnapping, and killing. Many Nigerians who would be traveling this festive season would be going through the dark tunnel of bruised, broken and battered infrastructure especially roads.

“While the light of Christmas would be celebrated across many cities, towns and villages around the world with bright illumination which are by-products of stability in public electricity supply, many Nigerians would be battling with queuing for hours to get petrol to power their generators.

“It is difficult to keep urging workers and ordinary Nigerians to hold on to the life buoy of hope in the midst of a burgeoning bay of darkness. Yet, hope is Christmas’s sublime message. It is only prudent that we take sinew from the knowledge that the darkest night usually births the brightest mornings. We believe that Nigeria’s brightest morning is just ahead of us”.

Speaking further the NLC boss encouraged Nigerian workers to be deliberate during the 2023 political season.

“After this Christmas, the next major event that will face us as a country would be the 2023 general elections. There is no bigger harbinger of hope than the opportunity to select a fresh set of political leaders. Political leadership is the match that lights the torch of hope. Every country would rise and fall with its choice of political leadership. Nigeria is no exception.

“We urge our compatriots especially workers to be very deliberate in their engagement with the political process come 2023. Elections are the time to ask critical questions and make rational choices. Workers must identify with political party candidates who demonstrate commitment to lighting up the end of the tunnels of economic downturns marked by soaring inflation, widespread insecurity, deepening poverty, escalating crises of unemployment especially among the youth demography of our country, decadent physical infrastructure, and brazen corruption in high places.

“We urge Nigerians to rise up to the challenge using the 2023 general poll as an enabling platform to elect a political leadership that is conscientious, prudent, and completely obedient to our demands as a people. 2023 is our torch of hope.” (The PUNCH)

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