The planned strike action is over the fuel subsidy removal by the Nigerian government as declared by President Bola Tinubu.
Prince Adewole Adebayo, the presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), has knocked the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) over its plan to go on strike on Wednesday.
The planned strike action is over the fuel subsidy removal by the Nigerian government as declared by President Bola Tinubu.
SaharaReporters had reported that the NLC with the support of some other civic groups and labour unions in the country had announced plans to embark on strike to protest against Tinubu’s announcement of fuel subsidy removal.
But while addressing journalists in Abuja at the weekend, Adebayo berated the labour union for the planned strike, saying it lacks jurisdiction.
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, Daily Trust reports.
Adebayo recalled that in the buildup to the 2023 presidential election, the candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) - now President, Tinubu; Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, all promised to remove fuel subsidy if elected, yet, over 20 million Nigerians voted for them.
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 lamented that the SDP, which promised to keep the subsidy, was not elected, saying, “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 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?”