The presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Adewole Adebayo, has berated the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) over its plan to go on a nationwide strike on Wednesday over the removal of fuel subsidy.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu had in his inaugural speech declared that “fuel subsidy is gone,” a development that led to the hike in the price of petrol across the country.
Following the announcement by the President, the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) reviewed its pump price for the product from about N185 to over N500.
Speaking with reporters in Abuja at the weekend, Adebayo stated that the planned strike by the NLC lacks jurisdiction, and should be called off immediately.
He said with over 20 million Nigerians voting for the three main presidential candidates who promised to remove fuel subsidy, the labour unions have no reason to declare any strike.
Adebayo also wondered why the NLC did not speak when the leading candidates promised to put an end to the fuel subsidy regime during the electioneering period.
He said the NLC and other Nigerians who are supporting the planned strike had no genuine reason to protest against the removal of the fuel subsidy, especially since they refused to vote for his party that promised to sustain the subsidy.
He said: “Hours after President Bola Tinubu’s inaugural speech about removal of subsidy, fuel stations across the country increased the fuel pump price by more than 300 percent, making the transport operators increase fares with its attendance effects on the passengers.
“Members of the organised labour under the aegis of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and Trade Union Congress, TUC, described the pronouncement by President Bola Tinubu as outrageous and insensitive to the economic plight Nigerian masses were being subjected to.
“Joe Ajearo, President of the Nigeria Labour Union, advised the government to adopt an alternative strategy that would not adversely hurt the Nigerian while seeking to resolve the issue of subsidy.
“They (the three leading political parties) said they were going to remove fuel subsidy. We thought it was a very bad idea and we debated it all over the country. But the three major parties, which supported subsidy removal – APC, PDP and Labour Party – were handsomely rewarded by the voters.
“People like us, the SDP, said no, cut the corruption because you need a social safety net for the people, and the subsidy is a way to control other cost drivers to avoid cost-push inflation. So, try to cut the heavy burden of wastage of corruption, not the subsidy.
“The labour unions protesting now were there when these parties publicly said they would remove subsidy, none of them objected, why protesting now?”
