The Trade Union Congress (TUC), has intervened in the controversy surrounding a corps member allegedly threatened by officials of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), for criticising President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
TUC President Festus Osifo, speaking on Sunday Politics on Channels Television, stated that the corps members spoke out of frustration and urged the government to show tolerance rather than targeting critics.
Ushie Uguamaye, an NYSC member based in Lagos, had taken to TikTok to criticise Tinubu’s government over the hardship Nigerians face as a result of the administration’s economic reforms.
Her video went viral and got the attention of NYSC officials, whom she later accused of calling her and issuing a threat to her to delete the video. NYSC has yet to release an official statement regarding the issue.
But the TUC boss said, “They (government) have to develop this resilience to understand that people are frustrated, people are hungry, people are tired. So, if they decide to vent, I strongly believe that the government should not personalise it and come after such individuals.
“Imagine a young lady carrying out her NYSC function, what does she really have to do to bring down government? So, it is about personal frustration that she has aired.
“So, I think that the government has to persevere much more, they have to be more tolerant, and they have to have this deep level of patience with Nigerians because people are passing through a lot as it stands today.”
The TUC boss, however, advised critics to always criticise the government within the expected norm and with some level of decorum.
In a statement released earlier on Sunday, Amnesty International also condemned the alleged threats and intimidation being faced by Lagos-based corps members.
It said that the Federal Government must stop threatening individuals and groups who criticise the current administration.
“The Nigerian authorities must stop responding with violence and threats to individuals and groups who express dissenting opinions — in utter disregard for Nigerian constitution and international law. Holding and voicing dissenting views is not a crime,” the organisation said in a statement on its X handle.
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