President Bola Tinubu has been cautioned by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) against eliminating fuel subsidies without taking sufficient steps to mitigate the impact on workers and Nigerians.
Comrade Joe Ajaero, the president of the NLC, criticized the President for ending fuel subsidies without consulting the appropriate parties in a statement on Tuesday.
Ajaero noted with regret that prices increased in some areas shortly after Tinubu’s announcement because some marketers shut down their filling states.
The NLC President called the action insensitive and claimed that instead of giving millions of Nigerians the renewed hope the administration had promised, it had instead brought them tears and sorrow.
Ajaero, however, said any attempt to remove fuel subsidy will be rejected by Nigerians, and asked the President to immediately withdraw the policy.
The declaration said:
“We at the Nigeria Labour Congress are appalled by President Bola Tinubu’s declaration that the fuel subsidy will be eliminated without proper consultation with important stakeholders or without the implementation of palliative measures to soften the harsh effects of the “subsidy removal.”
“Within hours of his announcement, the country fell into a tailspin as a result of a combination of service cuts and product price increases, some of which represented price adjustments of over 300 percent.
President Tinubu’s callous action on the day of his inauguration, instead of giving millions of Nigerians hope, brought them sadness and tears. The value of their lives was also reduced by over 300 percent by him.
“To act with this level of cruelty toward the people at any time is not heroic,
let alone on the day of an inauguration. If he was hoping for a medal for making this choice, he would undoubtedly be disappointed to receive curses because the Nigerian people view it as a major betrayal rather than just a minor one.
“On our part, we vehemently oppose this choice and demand that this policy be immediately withdrawn.”
