•Festus Osifo, Ushie Uguamaye and Tinubu
The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has waded into the trending issue of a Youth Corps member who allegedly got threatened by officials of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) for criticising the President Bola Tinubu administration.
TUC President, Festus Osifo, who was a guest on Channels Television yesterday, said that the corps member spoke out of frustration, advising the government not to go after her but to be tolerant of critics.
The Lagos-based NYSC member, Ushie Uguamaye, had taken to TikTok to criticise Tinubu’s government over 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 is 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 yesterday, Amnesty International also condemned the alleged threats and intimidation being faced by Lagos-based Corps member.
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 in a statement on its X handle.
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