The tension between the organised Labour and the federal government over the removal of fuel subsidy has escalated as the Labour leaders stormed out of a meeting with the Presidential Steering Committee on subsidy palliatives on Friday.
The meeting was supposed to take place at the presidential villa, Abuja, to discuss the measures put in place by the government to cushion the effect of the fuel subsidy removal on the workers.
The fuel subsidy removal was announced by President Bola Tinubu during his inauguration on May 29, 2023, as part of his economic reforms.
The policy, which will take effect from July 1, 2023, is expected to increase the pump price of petrol from 185 naira ($0.40) to between 350 ($0.76) and 550 naira ($1.18) per litre. This has sparked concerns and chaos among Nigerians, who are already facing high inflation, unemployment and insecurity.
The Presidential Steering Committee was set up by the government to come up with palliatives that would mitigate the impact of the policy on the workers.
The committee had met with the labour delegation on Wednesday and agreed to reconvene on Friday to get briefs from the three subcommittees that were set up to look into various demands. The subcommittees are: Mass Transit, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Cash Transfer.
However, according to Vanguard, the labour leaders, led by the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, arrived at the Chief of Staff’s office, venue of the meeting, at about 5pm on Friday but left shortly afterwards. The reason for their abrupt departure was that there was no quorum for the meeting, as most of the government officials who were members of the subcommittees were absent.
The labour leaders accused the government of using the meetings as a pretext to deceive Nigerians and expressed their frustration over the lack of preparedness and seriousness by the government representatives. They said they were not ready to continue with a meeting that did not have a clear agenda and outcome.
A source at the meeting confirmed that “They are not prepared for the meeting. That’s the truth,” adding that “They are using cover to deceive Nigerians. There are supposed to be three subcommittees, mass transit subcommittee, the CNG, and the cash transfer, to brief us, the steering committee but government was not prepared for the meeting.”
The source also said that “In their introductory remarks they made excuses and they wanted the meeting to continue, the meeting did not form a quorum. We are a people that operate on the basis of process. So, if there’s no quorum in a meeting what do you do? You will adjourn for lack of quorum.”
Another member of the Steering Committee said, “There was nobody to meet with. The Chief of Staff was not there, they are taking us like small children.”
It was gathered that the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila had earlier waited for the labour delegation with other members of the team at his Conference Hall. He later stepped out to attend to other official matters within the Villa while other members of the government team were waiting for the organised labour to arrive.
It was also reported that the labour delegation from NLC and Trade Union Congress (TUC) was delayed at the State House entrance gate otherwise known as Mopol gate for clearance. The names of the labour delegation were not sent to gate for clearance which led to their delay for meeting.
The walkout by labour leaders has raised doubts about the possibility of reaching a consensus on how to address the challenges posed by fuel subsidy removal in Nigeria. It has also increased fears of a possible nationwide strike or protest by workers and citizens against what they perceive as an insensitive and anti-people policy by Tinubu’s administration.
