The police authorities have said they would not condone any form of violence during the planned two-day demonstration declared by organised Labour in protest against the hardships and high cost of living in the country.
The police handed down the Riot Act on Sunday as the Nigeria Labour Congress gave fresh conditions ahead of the minimum wage negotiation commencing on Monday (today.)
The police warning is coming against the backdrop of the alarm by the African Development Bank that rising prices of fuel and other commodities could lead to social unrest in Nigeria, Ethiopia, Angola, and Kenya.
The AfDB sounded the warning in its macroeconomic performance and outlook for 2024 in which it projected Africa’s economy to grow higher than the 3.2 per cent recorded in 2023.
The AfDB projected that growth on the continent will rebound to 3.8 per cent in 2024.
However, the bank cautioned that an increase in fuel and commodity prices occasioned by currency depreciation or subsidy removal in Nigeria, Angola, Kenya, and Ethiopia could trigger internal conflicts.
It stated, “Internal conflicts and violence could also result from rising prices for fuel and other commodities due to weaker domestic currencies and reforms.
“For instance, the removal of fuel subsidies in Angola, Ethiopia, Kenya and Nigeria and the resulting social costs has led to social unrest driven by opposition to government policy.”
On February 8, the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress gave a two-week ultimatum to the government to implement the agreements on palliatives for workers to mitigate the impact of the fuel subsidy removal and other policies reached last October.
The unions said they had mobilised their members for the nationwide protests slated for February 27 and 28.
The organised labour lamented that millions of Nigerian workers were facing hunger, erosion of purchasing power, and insecurity due to reforms that drove up inflation.
The NLC National President, Joe Ajaero, said the protest would begin a week after the expiration of the 14-day ultimatum it issued to the Federal Government which will expire on February 23.
Ajaero, who spoke during a briefing with journalists in Abuja, said the decision followed an emergency National Executive Council meeting on the state of the economy and matters related to insecurity in the country.