Fuel subsidy removal: Labour leaders react to Tinubu’s inaugural speech

Some labor leaders say there is a need for all stakeholders in the sector, including the government, to analyze the issue of fuel subsidy removal mentioned by the new President, Mr. Bola Tinubu, in his inaugural speech.

Tinubu, on taking office on Monday, said that the budget in place before his coming on board made no provision for fuel subsidies, and so they were gone.

The President commended the decision of the Buhari administration to phase out the petrol subsidy regime, saying it had increasingly favored the rich over the poor.

“Subsidy can no longer justify its ever-increasing costs in the wake of drying resources. We shall instead re-channel the funds into better investment in public infrastructure, education, health care, and jobs that will materially improve the lives of millions,” he said.

Labor leaders said on Monday in Lagos that the issue needed a holistic approach.

The National Deputy President, Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Mr. Tommy Okon,said that there had to be stakeholder engagement, of which organized labor was one.

“So, we cannot just comment on it until we are engaged, but we have made our position known in our charter of demand to remove fuel subsidies.

“So, it will not be a one-off response because organized labor is a partner in progress; they need to sit down and discuss and agree before that is done to avoid industrial unrest,“ Okon said.

Also, Mr. Lumumba Okugbawa, the Secretary-General of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, said stakeholders would sit down to analyze the situation and propose a way forward for the betterment of the country.

“We need to analyze the situation, sit with stakeholders, including the government, and see the way forward.

“This is pending when our local refineries, which has been our major point, produce locally, all these issues about subsidy removal will not be there.

“Once we produce locally, the price will not be there, but at least it will be reduced,” Okugbawa said.

On his part, the Secretary General of the TUC, Mr. Nuhu Toho, said the union would issue a statement in reaction to some of the issues raised in the president’s inaugural speech.