The Precision, Electrical, and Related Equipment Senior Staff Association (PERESSA) has endorsed the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)-led nationwide protest against worsening insecurity, describing the action as a necessary response to the Federal Government’s failure to protect lives and property across the country.
In a statement issued on Tuesday and signed by its National President, Comrade Rufus Olusesan, PERESSA said the protest scheduled for Wednesday, December 17, 2025, was “not only timely but imperative,” accusing the administration of President Bola Tinubu of abandoning its constitutional responsibility to guarantee the safety and welfare of Nigerians.
The association said insecurity, though more pronounced in parts of northern Nigeria, has spread across all regions, leaving no part of the country truly safe and affecting citizens regardless of religion or ethnicity.
“Working people and youth must unite to put pressure on the government to do its job of securing and protecting the lives of every Nigerian,” the union said.
PERESSA noted that beyond insecurity, the protest reflects widespread frustration among workers and the poor who have been pushed to the brink by what it described as anti-poor, neo-liberal economic policies pursued by successive governments.
According to the union, rising unemployment, deepening poverty and declining living standards have created fertile ground for criminality, including banditry and insurgency.
“Nigeria is witnessing an unprecedented collapse of living standards. Inflation has become a daily struggle for survival, wages have been severely eroded, and the purchasing power of workers has been drastically reduced,” the statement said.
The association criticised policies such as the removal of fuel subsidies, increases in electricity tariffs, the floating of the naira and rising energy costs, saying they have imposed needless hardship on workers and ordinary Nigerians.
PERESSA also warned against the planned implementation of a new tax regime from January 2026, arguing that it would further impoverish workers, cripple small and medium-scale enterprises and deepen social inequality.
The union called on the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to join forces with the NLC to form a united labour front, while also urging closer collaboration with civil society and progressive groups to resist policies it said favour the political and economic elite.
Describing the December 17 protest as a launchpad for broader struggles ahead, PERESSA vowed to stand with Nigerian workers and the oppressed masses in the fight for security, fair taxation, decent wages and an economy that serves the majority.
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