29th February, 2024
By Kazeem Ugbodaga
President Bola Tinubu on Thursday jibes at Labour Unions in the country, saying they should maintain peace as they are not the only voice agitating in Nigeria.
The president, while speaking in Lagos at the unveiling of the first phase of the Lagos Red Line Rail project in Ikeja, said no matter how much labour unions claim to their freedom and rights, engaging in four strikes within nine months of an administration was unacceptable.
He said if the unions wanted to participate in the electoral process, they should wait till 2027.
“Let me jibe at the labour unions, no matter how much we claim to our freedom and right, four strikes within nine months of an administration is unacceptable.
“If you want to participate in electoral process wait till 2027, if not maintain peace, you are not the only voice in Nigeria,” he said.
Earlier, Tinubu, while unveiling the 27 km first phase of the rail project stretching from Agbado in Ogun State to the iconic National Theatre in Iganmu, in Ikeja, commended the Lagos Area Metropolitan Transport Authority (LAMATA) and the Lagos State Government for such a massive project.
Tinubu said “We are gathered for the inauguration of the second of the 6th rail line projects and I thank our political leaders here for being believing in us and lifting our spirit, we said we can do it and you believed in us, we said the people’s life will end up being better, you believed in us.
“We hear lots of noise right now, I asked for this job, I cannot complain. For this revolution that is starting, this reform that is ongoing, we are not looking back. It is the affirmation of our pledge to be loyal to our country, there is a bright light under the tunnel,” he said.
The president said he agreed that corruption and smugglers are fighting back, saying “we will fight them, corruption will go away and we will save the money for you, for your children. The fight is on, we will be on it and we are not looking back.”
He said what LAMATA and the Lagos State Government had done is a strong reminder that that true change is possible and “change we must achieve, progress we must achieve, it is not about single individual, we have huge population in the world, we cannot afford to relax, the burgeoning population, we must plan and prepare for it and this economy, we will grow it and we will feed ourselves out of the penury and we will be happy we did it.
“We must exterminate corruption, no matter how hard it is fighting back, we must adhere to our pledge, perseverance, consistency and staying focus.”