The strike is scheduled to start on Wednesday over the announcement of fuel subsidy removal by President Bola Tinubu.
The African Action Congress (AAC), one of the political parties that participated in Nigeria’s 2023 general elections, has directed its members across the country to join the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) proposed nationwide strike.
The strike is scheduled to start on Wednesday over the announcement of fuel subsidy removal by President Bola Tinubu.
The AAC gave the directive on Sunday in a statement issued by its National Working Committee and signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Femi Adeyeye.
The party, while commending the labour unions’ firm rejection of the fuel subsidy removal by the Nigerian government, described the subsidy removal as a class war against Nigerians. It added that total deregulation of the oil sector is a grave robbery of Nigeria’s commonwealth and a wicked attack on Nigerians.
The AAC said, “By the horrible effects of the so-called subsidy removal on petrol, we so hold that this is a very confirmation of what our revolutionary political party, the African Action Congress (AAC) berates the crudely and nastily insulting imposition of Total Deregulation of the Downstream Sector of Oil.
“In spite of the age-long roguery and allocation of thieving subsidies to the business class as cronies of this ruinous vampires posing as ruling class over the most populous black nation of the world, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the selected President has audaciously hiked the price of petrol from N195 to between N488 and N550.
“When you subtract from the Lagos price and the old fixed price, Nigerians are forced to pay N293 for every litre of fuel. We posit that this is greedy, daring, and cruel!
“But we ask Nigerians not to be emotional at this time. We need to understand that we have been making the errors of kowtowing majorly to the whims and caprices of these clueless rulers masquerading as leaders.
“What the Tinubu regime will do is to plunder the country's resources more, and privatize more of the people's wealth to his and cronies' personal pockets. No wonder, in such a very demeaning manner, Tinubu has ordered the Central Bank to devalue the Naira from N460 to N630. This is lumping the attacks on the masses so the people can be confused as to what and whom to fight.”
AAC noted that it has repeatedly maintained that if elected into power, it would reduce the cost of running the government significantly, saying, “We were the only ones who talked about cancelling the Minister of State position even before Mr Festus Keyamo mentioned it, after collecting unconstitutional salaries and allowances for years.”
AAC, therefore, commended the NLC and the TUC for their massive and open rejection of the new price hikes.
It said, “While the Labour Movement was hoodwinked to endorse a neo-liberal candidacy endorsing the same fuel subsidy removal at the last Presidential Election, the AAC notes that the new labour leadership insisted against the whole gamut of subsidy removal.
“We will like to urge the Labour Movement to rise and face this ruinous capitalist class once and for all. While it is good to concede to industrial relations strategies, we posit that this is a class war against the people of Nigeria and must be treated with all seriousness.
“AAC therefore supports the Wednesday, June 7th nationwide strike actions and we call on all Nigerians, our members, all Civil Society and pro-masses organizations to join the strikes all over the country raising the radical banner of #RevolutionNow as it is not just our oil that is to be totally taken away from the reach of the masses, but that Nigeria is fully being privatized!
“Nigerians should have it at the back of our minds that we need a different ideology, party, and school of ideas that should redirect our socio-economic progress, moving forward. We are now clear that all the strands of the ruling class parties are one and the same. They all want the subsidy removed.
“As we mobilize and organize to call it a date with these audacious and arrogant robbers of the Commonwealth and collective patrimony of all Nigerians, AAC believes that another Nigeria is very possible when the oppressed bandy together in a common goal; to crush this oppressive primitive accumulative system and build a new one when the needs, wants, and progress of all Nigerians both individually and collectively would be the ideology of government!
“When we unite and fight, victory is certain!”