The organized labour, comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress [NLC] and the Trade Union Congress [TUC], embarked on a nationwide protest on Wednesday to press home their demands for adequate provision of palliatives to cushion the harsh effects of the removal of subsidy on petrol.
We recall that on May 29, President Bola Tinubu gave an unexpected effect to the zero fuel subsidy regime with his revolutionary pronouncement at the Eagle Square, venue of his inauguration that “fuel subsidy is gone!” Expectedly, that statement precipitated widespread reactions among citizens. While some applauded it, others went engaged in a scathing criticisms of the policy. Those on the side of the President praised him to high heavens as a man who has demonstrated uncommon courage necessary for the long awaited socio-political and economic reengineering of the country. But for those on the other side of the argument, the President’s decision was hasty. This group contended that since the subsidy regime was to have lasted till the end of June, the fuel-subsidy-is -gone assertion which triggered an immediate astronomical rise in the pump price of petrol was ill calculated. However, both sides are on the same page on the imperative of eliminating the hydra-headed monster called fuel subsidy.
Nonetheless, the arguments are without prejudice to the fact that government has failed to put in place all necessary facilitates to aid a seamless exit from the subsidy regime. Now, the concomitant effect is steering everyone in the face as the cost of living in the country is undoubtedly becoming unbearable.
We note that Labour, undoubtedly, joined the fray to push the demands by citizens for a deserving provision of palliatives as succour to the excruciating pain they are currently experiencing and which is increasing by the day. Accordingly, the organized labour put forward a set of demands which has formed the basis for a protracted negotiation with representatives of government in the past two months. Among the demands are immediate implementation of all resolutions of Congress with government, immediate reversal of anti-people policies of government including the recent hike in PMS, school fess and VAT, fixing of the nation’s refineries and wage award. Regrettably, the negotiation did not appear to have yielded the desired outcome, leading to Wednesday’s mass protest.
It should also be pointed out that the government had announced a number of measures aimed at assuaging the pains of the citizens. In a nationwide broadcast on Monday, President Tinubu outlined the plans which included boosting of the manufacturing sector with N75bn, funding of MSMEs to the tune of N125bn, provision of 3000 buses to ease transportation of workers ad students and increase in the minimum wage. Tinubu also announced that a whopping one trillion naira had been saved in just two months as a positive fallout of the subsidy withdrawal policy. Also, the President had earlier proposed cash transfer of N8000 for five million vulnerable households to be paid for six months, but had to disavow in deference to public disapproval.
Although labour did not reject the offers made by the federal government, it did not mince words that what had been placed on the table was grossly inadequate to address the current suffering of Nigerians.
The protest, no doubt, recorded a resounding success especially in view of the fact that it was incident-free. This development has attested to the maturity of the Labour Movement and the law enforcement agents. And it is a plus to the Tinubu-led administration that citizens can express their decent with government policies without fear of molestation by agents of the state, as was the rule rather than the exception. We commend the government for respecting the rights of Nigerians.
It is, however, gratifying that labour has not only suspended the mass action but has also returned to the negotiation table. We enjoin all the parties to approach the issues with an open mind, keeping the general good of all citizens at the back of their minds. We are convinced that with such a style, the resolution to the lingering impasse will not be long in coming.
