The Precision, Electrical, and Related Equipment Senior Staff Association has declared full support for the Nigeria Labour Congress-led nationwide protest scheduled for Wednesday, December 17, 2025, describing the action as a necessary response to rising insecurity and deepening economic hardship across the country.
In a statement issued on Tuesday and signed by its National President, Comrade Rufus Olusesan, the senior staff union said the protest was both timely and unavoidable, accusing the Federal Government of failing in its primary duty to protect lives and property.
PERESSA said Nigeria’s worsening security situation, though more visible in parts of the North, has spread nationwide, insisting that no region can now be described as truly safe. The association stressed that Nigerians of all ethnic and religious backgrounds are bearing the consequences of what it called prolonged state failure.
According to the union, working people and young Nigerians must unite to compel the government to take decisive action to secure the country and restore public confidence.
Beyond insecurity, PERESSA said the protest captures the frustration of workers and ordinary citizens who have been pushed to the brink by what it described as anti-poor and market-driven economic policies.
The association warned that rising unemployment, mass poverty, and collapsing living standards have fuelled criminal activities, including banditry and insurgency, noting that economic despair has become a major driver of insecurity.
“Nigeria is witnessing an unprecedented collapse in living standards,” the statement said, adding that inflation has eroded wages and stripped workers of their purchasing power, leaving many unable to meet basic needs.
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PERESSA criticised policies such as the removal of petrol subsidies, increased electricity tariffs, the floating of the naira, and rising energy costs, arguing that these measures have imposed avoidable hardship on workers and small businesses.
The union also raised concern over the proposed new tax regime expected to take effect from January 2026, warning that it would further weaken workers’ incomes, suffocate small and medium-sized enterprises, and widen inequality.
It cautioned that unchecked economic pressure would inevitably worsen insecurity, as more citizens are pushed into desperation.
PERESSA called on the Trade Union Congress to break what it described as silence and join forces with the NLC to present a united labour front against government policies it said favour a privileged few at the expense of the majority.
The association also urged labour unions to strengthen collaboration with civil society and progressive organisations, including the Labour and Civil Society Coalition and the Education Rights Campaign, insisting that only a broad alliance can effectively challenge policies undermining workers’ welfare.
According to PERESSA, the December 17 protest should serve as a rallying point for wider struggles ahead, particularly as Nigerians brace for the implementation of the new tax regime in 2026.
The union reaffirmed its commitment to stand with Nigerian workers and the wider population in the demand for improved security, fair wages, just taxation, and an economy that works for the many, not a privileged few.
