FG To Meet NLC Today Over Subsidy Removal

• Representatives of the Federal Government are expected to meet with NLC today.

• The meeting will be over the proposed removal of fuel subsidy.

• The NLC President called for a review of Tinubu’s pronouncement, emphasizing that leadership should reduce people’s suffering.

EKO HOT BLOG reports that representatives of the Federal Government are expected to meet with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) today over the proposed removal of fuel subsidy.

In an interview with Channels Television on Wednesday morning, NLC National President Joe Ajaero disclosed that Labour’s position has been clear: alternatives must be provided even if President Bola Tinubu has good intentions.

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According to Ajaero, the President should have asked questions and evaluated the implications of removing fuel subsidy on ordinary Nigerians.

Ajaero listed some alternatives, including repairing the nation’s four refineries, providing transportation alternatives for Nigerian workers, among others.

He called for a review of the President’s pronouncement, stating that the pronouncement was as good as law. “The same people that made the law can look at it,” he added.

Ajaero also emphasized that it is leadership’s responsibility to reduce the suffering of the people. He questioned, “Does it bring pleasure to us to say subsidy is gone and people start suffering?”

Following Tinubu’s inaugural speech on May 29, which unexpectedly declared “Subsidy is gone,” there was an increase in panic buying, with some fuel stations across the country selling petrol at as high as N600 per litre. The organized labour comprising of Trade Union Congress and NLC described the move by Tinubu as a “joke taken too far.”

It is expected that today’s meeting will provide a lasting solution to the situation on ground. Already, the Nigerian National Population Company Limited has noted that the country spends over N400bn monthly on subsidy. Industry experts have said this model is not sustainable in the long run.

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Tinubu stated on Monday that when the subsidy on fuel is removed, the funds would be channeled into developing other sectors. Although the President’s image makers insist that Tinubu was misquoted by some sections of the media, the removal of fuel subsidy remains a contentious issue and will require careful consideration.

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