*tells Nigerian workers, masses not to place trust on winner
*urges struggle to resist attacks, anti-poor policies
By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan
The Joint Action Front (JAF) on Tuesday advised Nigerian workers, youth and the masses not to place their trust in whoever emerges the winner of this year’s presidential election.
JAF in a statement made available to journalists in Ibadan, signed by its Secretary, Comrade Abiodun Aremu hinted that the advice became necessary in view of the fact that the 2023 general elections will not deliver the kind of change needed to salvage Nigeria
regardless of who wins the presidential election.
In the statement, JAF maintained that there will be no real change in the condition of Nigeria so far as the socio-economic system is left unchanged, and that, “we will not be free until when we decide to be free, and not depend on ‘arrangee’ elections that keep producing the leaders”
It stressed that rather than placing trust in whoever emerges as the winner of this year’s presidential election, they should gird their loins to commence preparations for serious mass struggle to resist attacks and anti-poor policies that from all indications will be intensified after the election, and for System Change, as the only way to guarantee a future for Nigeria”
” As preparations are in top gear for the 2023 general elections, the Joint Action Front (JAF) considers it imperative to warn the Nigerian workers, youth and the poor masses of the impending danger the 2023 general elections constitute, regardless of who win the presidential election from the main capitalist parties”, it said.
The body added, ” Nigerian workers, the women, the youth and the poor masses cannot and should not place their trust in any capitalist politician, but instead should gird their loins to commence preparations for serious mass struggle to resist attacks and anti-poor policies that from all indications will be intensified after the election, and for System Change, as the only way to guarantee a future for Nigeria”.
” Unfortunately, the 2023 general elections will not deliver the kind of change posited by JAF. This is because the leading political parties and their candidates in the 2023 elections are the usual type and due to the absence of a mass workers party armed with pro-people programme and policies”.
JAF noted, “suffice to stress that the Labour Party (LP) which has been endorsed by the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) does not stand for pro-worker programmes and policies.
” In our view, the endorsement by the NLC and TUC of the LP and the so-called worker-candidates of bourgeois political parties like the PDP and APC is a mistaken approach that will not deliver for the working masses a government that will genuinely rule in the class interest of the working people and the poor masses.
JAF stressed further, ” there will be no real change in the condition of Nigeria so far as the socio-economic system is left unchanged in the control of the ruling class.”
” While deceitfully mouthing “change”, the outgoing APC-Buhari Government keeps on implementing the very same capitalist economic and political programmes that is responsible for Nigeria’s woes. This is the fundamental reason why the country is going from bad to worse.
” The failure of the APC-Buhari government does not come to us in JAF as a surprise. Quite the contrary, as we have argued several times, the fundamental cause of the crisis of inequality, poverty and underdevelopment in Nigeria is capitalism. By capitalism, we mean the social and economic system prevailing in Nigeria today under which the productive sectors of the economy are handed over to the private sector for profit making and the government is run essentially in the interest of a few while the mass of the people wallow in poverty.”
