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General News of Friday, 31 March 2023

Source: www.dailytrust.com

Labour cautions FG on petrol subsidy removal

Chris Ngige Chris Ngige

The organised labour has cautioned the federal government against petrol subsidy removal, vowing to resist the move if it is not carried along.

The President and the Secretary-General of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo and Abba Toro, respectively, gave the caution in separate chats with Daily Trust on Thursday.

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, had, a fortnight ago during a courtesy visit to the headquarters of the Voice of Nigerian in Abuja, disclosed that petrol subsidy would be removed before the end of President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure on May 29.

She had attributed the delay in the subsidy removal, as provided for in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, to the 2023 general elections and the national population census.

The Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Clement Agba, had, after the Federal Executive Council meeting held on March 15, said no conclusion had been reached on how to lessen the likely impacts of the proposed petrol subsidy removal on citizens.

He said though a committee headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had been working for about a year, nothing definite had been agreed upon.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, had on Tuesday said the government would hand over the implementation of petrol subsidy removal’s palliative measures to the incoming administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

But labour officials described the plan by the Buhari-led administration to remove the subsidy before it leaves on May 29, and leave the chaos that will follow to the in-coming administration as not fair. They said citing the PIA as basis for removing the subsidy does not hold water because there is no law made by man that is cast in stone.

Discussion necessary to avert crisis – TUC

The TUC president, Osifo, said there must be discussions between the organised labour and the government (whether outgoing or incoming) before removal of subsidy.

“Well, anybody can make pronouncements on removal of subsidies in his or her kitchen, what I know is that we can’t even talk about palliatives now when we have not sat on a round table to discuss the main issue.


“As of now, no discussion is ongoing regarding that. Whatever the government wants to do on that, labour is a critical stakeholder that must be carried along.

“We will sit together, discuss, solve grey areas and find a common ground,” Osifo told one of our correspondents in his Abuja office.

On his part, Toro noted that it is necessary to carry the labour movement along before removing petrol subsidy.

He said, “That is what we call social dialogue. Everything will be back to square one if the government removes subsidies without carrying labour along.”

When reminded that the PIA law signed by President Buhari stated that subsidy removal must not exceed June, Toro said “laws were not cast in the iron”.

“Like the president alluded to, it is a function of social dialogue, and they cannot push out a policy through our throats without consultation, if they don’t consult, we will automatically confront them if it affects us directly. There is no way we will allow that.

“Laws are written by human beings, and it is to govern human beings, so, those laws are not cast in the irons. Because they are laws, and they are not favourable to the survival of the people, should we keep quiet? No! That’s why we have the parliament.”


Nigerians worried over unclear palliative plan

Meanwhile, Nigerians have expressed concern over the government’s decision to shift the implantation of fuel subsidy removal palliatives to the incoming administration.

The citizens see petrol subsidy as one benefit they receive from the government, which they believe has failed to deliver other basic services such as electricity and security despite receiving billions of dollars every year from oil exports.

Speaking to Daily Trust, Barrister Ken Ukaoha said: “Nigerians are currently contending with so much hardship as a result of inflation. Prices of foodstuffs have hit the roof. Fuel scarcity is still there. The prices of cooking gas and diesel are at an all-time high. There is very little room to carry an extra inch of hardship.”


Petrol price may hit N750 per litre

Stakeholders in the sector have told Nigerians to be ready to pay as much as N750 per litre of petrol at filling stations.

This was the high point of stakeholders’ interventions during an online workshop, with the theme ‘Deregulation of the Nigerian Downstream Sector: The Day After’.

Speaking at the session, the National President of IPMAN, Chinedu Okoronkwo, represented by the association’s National Operations Controller, Mike Osatuyi, stated that the marketers were in full support of the government’s plan to embark on full deregulation of the downstream sector.

Okoronkwo warned Nigerians to prepare to pay up to N750 for every litre of petrol after the full implementation of the subsidy removal.