Ahead of the May Day celebration on Monday, members of the organised labour, under the auspices of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) have frowned on the decision of the Ministry of the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT) to cancel the use of the Eagle Square arena in Abuja for the hosting of this year’s May Day workers celebration.

The Congress urged Nigerian workers to expect tougher challenges, adding that there were no signs that the hardship and deprivation in the land will abate.

Speaking to journalists shortly after the May Day Lecture delivered by an economic analyst, Sam Amadi, the NLC General Secretary, Comrade Emma Ugboaja, said that the leadership of the apex labour movement was dismayed by the sudden withdrawal of permission to hold May Day rally at the normal venue, the Eagle Square in Abuja.

The Minister of the FCT, Mohammed Abdullahi, had sent a letter to NLC on Thursday notifying it of the cancellation of the permit to organise a rally at the Eagles Square, saying that rehabilitation is being carried out in readiness for the May 29, presidential inauguration.

However, Ugboaja described government’s last minute withdrawal of permit as a sign of contempt and disdain for the workers.

The labour movement said the move is also a sign of what to expect going forward.

Expressing the workers dismay at the development, Ugboaja said: “They have withdrawn the permission and they don’t want to talk to us. The Minister of FCT has withdrawn our permission to use Eagle Square for the May Day and clearly he is speaking for his government. It means the government doesn’t want to address the workers, so they don’t appreciate the work the workers have put in over the years.

“The reason they gave was that they were renovating the Eagle Square for usage on May 29 and we’ll find it to be ultra lame. This is not the first time there will be an inauguration. We have had more than five to seven inaugurations in the past two decades and we have always held May Day in the Eagle Square.

“It’s a workers’ day, we had sought the permission to use a venue and it was granted to us and later withdrawn. So it has nothing to do with the Minister of Labour. The Minister of FCT through his agents sent us a letter yesterday,” he said.

On the implication of the cancellation of the venue and what it portends for government-labour relations, Ugboaja said workers will go ahead with their May Day rally and will talk to themselves whether anyone from government attends or not.

“The May day Rally will hold but not in Eagle Square but the workers will mark their day from the NLC to every nook and cranny of Nigeria.

“If the withdrawal of our permission to use the Eagle Square is a snippet of what they (workers) should expect, we are ready and from the way we have adjusted to it, we will prove to them that we are ready for whatever they are going to throw at us,” he said.

Ugboaja said that workers have been able to keep the country going in spite of headship that has exhibited incompetence.

He said that it is strictly to the credit of workers to have kept the country going.

When asked about what the workers should expect beyond the May Day celebration, the NLC scribe said Nigerians should be prepared for tougher times.

“Workers should be prepared for the worst. The indicators don’t point towards any rosy future if we don’t struggle. So it’s going to be a war cry on May 1st, just for us to brace up to face the challenges we see coming forward,” he added. (Courtesy, excluding headline, THISDAY)

Update news