I hereby state that the first economic and critical declaration made by President Bola Tinubu upon assuming office is the removal of the long-standing fuel subsidy. In his inaugural speech on May 29, Tinubu stated that the 2023 federal budget didn’t make any provision for fuel subsidy and as a result, the President declared that the Federal Government would no longer subsidise petrol.
However, the President’s declaration has caused the price of petrol and other basic commodities in the country to skyrocket. Many experts had predicted the short-term negative implications of the removal, which included high petrol price, decrease in the economic growth, worsening inflation and poverty rates, as well as the loss of jobs in the informal sector.
Fuel subsidy, in my humble opinion, has in many ways touched the lives of the citizens of the country. That is why I believe the organised labour in the country is unhappy with the government decision. The labour unions recommended measures to alleviate the suffering of the masses as a result of the subsidy removal.
After a series of negotiations the Federal Government came up with palliative measures in collaboration with the state governments. The government promised cash support for the poor. The government also promised subsidised public transportation systems with state-run buses in major cities in the country.
These economic programmes are meant to cushion the adverse effects of the removal of fuel subsidy on individuals and businesses affected. However, there are concerns that the palliative measures might not reach the targeted beneficiaries due to corruption. There is also the problem of inadequate data on the actual number of the indigent and underprivileged people in the country. Due to this problem of inadequate data, it means the budgeted funds for palliative measures may be insufficient to cushion the effects of the president’s declaration.
The Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress are also not convinced by these measures of the government. That is why these congresses threatened an indefinite strike to pressure the government to do more and better.
Thus, after a series of meetings and discussions between the organised labour and the Federal Government, some agreements were reached, one of which was to increase the salary of workers. These agreements resulted in the suspension of the strike for 30 days earlier scheduled to begin on October 3, 2023.
Before the strike was suspended, it should be noted that the organised labour had threatened to pull out of the meeting with the government because the government insisted that the N35, 000 provisional salary increment across board would only last for six months.
Now that the Federal Government announced an increase of salary to all categories of workers, this, in some quarters, is also seen as problematic because salary increase always comes with increase in commodity prices. Some also say government workers represent only a small percentage of the Nigerian population, which means that the vast majority of Nigerians will not benefit from the salary increment. Many are wondering how the poor citizens and those who are not public servants and civil servants are going to survive the hardship.
I strongly urge the NLC and the government to review the agreements reached in order to avert adding insult to injury, especially for the ordinary citizens. The government must come up with long-term economic measures that can create job opportunities for the country’s teeming youth and tackle poverty. The government must also judiciously invest the money saved from the fuel subsidy removal for the benefit of the nation at large.
