The Organised Labour has accused the Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government of jettisoning the Presidential Steering Committee it set up to work out the palliatives among others, to cushion the effects of the subsidy removal that has worsened the socio-economic well-being of Nigerians, especially workers.
Speaking through the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, ASCSN, Organised Labour, however, called on the government to declare a state of emergency on insecurity as well as address the transportation difficulties facing workers and other Nigerians in the midst of the high cost of essential services following the removal of subsidy on petrol.
President of ASCSN and a member of the sub-committee of the Presidential Steering Committee on Cost of Governance, Dr Tommy Okon, who spoke during interaction with journalists in Lagos, expressed disappointment at the manner President Bola Tinubu-led administration was handling the planned palliatives to cushion the effects of petrol subsidy removal, on Nigerians, describing it as dictatorial while jettisoning the committee the government set up in the wake of the subsidy removal and organised Labour’s threat to go on strike and mass protest.
He said “The policy of cash transfer by the federal government is not the best for the economy. President Tinubu should have allowed the fuel subsidy committee to submit its report before taking action on palliatives. Why were we (organised Labour) invited to be part of the subsidy removal palliative committee when our opinion will not be considered? I am a member of the sub-committee on cost of governance. I can tell you for free that we have not even met once. We are not happy at all.
“The cash transfer policy is an International Monetary Fund, IMF, and World Bank idea. In fact, it was N5,000 the IMF and World Bank gave the government as a template. When the government brought it to our meeting with them, we rejected it. Even if it is N20, 000 or more, it can’t solve anything. How can the IMF and the World Bank be borrowing us money and also telling us how to spend it, not even in the productive sector of the economy, but to share with some people based on the IMF and World Bank’s template.
On the recent declaration of emergency on Food, he argued that the declaration of a state of emergency on food by the government would have little or no impact until the worsening insecurity in the country was checkmated.
He said “Mr President has declared a state of emergency on food. But that would not guarantee food security because farmers are being chased away from their farms. In some parts of Niger State, for example, farmers are being made to pay terrorists to access their farms. Labour will also want to see a palliative that addresses the transportation difficulty faced by Nigerians as a result of the hike in petrol pump prices which has triggered unprecedented increases in transportation fares across the country. So, if the government focuses on mass transportation, such a move will have a positive spillover effect that will cushion the challenges associated with the removal of fuel subsidy.
“The major challenge we are having now is on transportation because once it is taken care of, it will reduce the cost of goods and services. Alternatively, the government can also cluster those in the informal sector, who are into productive ventures, and then pump money into them; that will have a turnover effect that will make them employers of labour, which can also checkmate and reduce unemployment. It can also give them the capital they need and economic strength, which is money.”