The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has cautioned that President Bola Tinubu-led administration might be courting dictatorship unwittingly.

Worried by the recent unrest and hunger protests nationwide, NLC also urged the president to condemn the alleged moves by the government to frame up innocent citizens on trumped-up charges and convene an inclusive stakeholders’ assembly to discuss pressing national issues.

In a communique issued at the end its emergency National Executive Council (NEC) held on Saturday, and signed by NLC president, Joe Ajaero, NLC urged the federal government to stop harassing those holding opposing ideologies.

“NEC wonders why this administration is criminalising protest and have renewed clamp down on Marxists, Socialists and those who hold different shades of Leftist ideologies as if courting a neo-liberal dictatorship.

“The NEC calls on the government to convene an inclusive stakeholders’ conclave to discuss the pressing issues confronting Nigeria and chart a path forward that addresses the root causes of the current unrest – hunger, poverty, inflation, insecurity and widespread dissatisfaction with government policies.

“The NEC calls on the government to stop the blame game and instead engage in meaningful dialogue with all stakeholders to find lasting solutions to the nation’s challenges,” it said.

The labour movement also urged President Tinubu to take decisive action to address the systemic issues of profligacy, waste, and mismanagement that have exacerbated the suffering of the Nigerian people.