The Chief Spokesman of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC PCC), Festus Keaymo, has slammed the Nigeria Labor Congress (NLC) for opposing the planned removal of fuel subsidy.
OsunDaily News earlier reported that the NLC had warned that those pushing for the fuel subsidy removal in Nigeria are out to set the country on fire, insisting that organized labour will not accept the removal of subsidy.
In a chat with Vanguard on Tuesday, NLC General Secretary, Emmanuel Ugboaja, said the government should not drag Nigerian masses and workers into any increase in fuel price in the name of subsidy removal.
But in a lengthy post via his verified Twitter handle on Tuesday, Keyamo warned the NLC against any attempt to incite the masses against the decision, noting that the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, similarly endorsed the subsidy removal during his campaign.
Keyamo noted that the organised labour had no moral right to ask the Federal Government to retain fuel subsidy when it openly endorsed a presidential candidate that called for its removal.
He said the NLC failed to dissociate themselves from the position of Obi during the campaign, adding that he warned about the moral burden of adopting a candidate who backed subsidy removal when the union opposed the decision.
The Minister of State for Labour and Employment said he can vouch for the patriotism of the NLC, but they will need to convince the nation that their position now is not political since the union’s candidate lost at the election.
He wrote: “With the greatest humility, this is a massive contradiction, my friends and comrades in NLC. You officially adopted Peter Obi, the Labour Party candidate, as your candidate at the elections and he also vowed to remove subsidy on pms. YOU DID NOT PUBLICLY DISASSOCIATE YOURSELF THEN FROM HIS POSITION.
“I called out NLC then through a statement I issued and warned about the moral burden of adopting such a candidate when you are opposed to subsidy removal. Nobody listened to me; I knew a day like this will come. Now, you have the moral burden of reconciling your positions on this issue; though, I can vouch for your patriotism, you have to convince the nation that your position now is not political since your candidate lost at the election.
“I also urge you to re-think your position because subsidy presently gulps about N300 billion on a monthly basis and this economy cannot simply sustain this. What I think we should be talking about is a significant increase in the minimum wage (and all consequential adjustments) and an immediate identification of massive infrastructural developments in all regions of this country to where the money saved will be channeled immediately.
“This will create more jobs to the delight of NLC. We also need to convince the people that the money saved will not go into unnecessary recurrent expenditure. The earlier these discussions start, the better; but subsidy has to go.”
