Oyo State Governor, Engr Seyi Makinde, joined the protest staged by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) against the deteriorating economic situation in the country.
Makinde joined the protesters in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Tuesday, saying the hunger and hardship in the country is unbearable.
He added that many people cannot feed themselves as there are no means even to find jobs to do.
The governor, however, urged all parties to work together to find solutions, expressing hope that the situation can be turned around.
“There is hunger and hardship in the land,” the governor said. “We must do something about it.”
He called on the federal government to take actions to ameliorate the suffering of the people, emphasising the need for policies that promote growth and job creation.
Makinde further said, “My message to the protesters and people of Oyo State is to simply let them know that this is a trying period for our country. It is not the time for divisive activities. We have to pull together and confront the challenges that we are faced with.
“Usually, when you are going through a period where you are trying to reform a system, there will be challenges. We have seen it in 1989 during the Structural Adjustment Programme. We had a riot but, at the end of the day, we still all came together to solve our problem.
“I told the labour and also responded to the NLC president that this is not the time for lies and propaganda. They cannot say no state is paying wage awards as we have started paying it to our workers and pensioners since October, last year.”
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