The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has said the plans of the federal government to remove the contentious fuel subsidy would be an open invitation to social and economic crisis in Nigeria.
The outgoing government under President Muhammadu Buhari had fixed June as the date for the removal of the fuel subsidy and announced the approval of N5,000 palliative to poor citizens as part of measures to ameliorate the expected difficulties that would follow the eventual removal.
But the NLC explained that the incoming administration of Bola Tinubu must tread with caution on the subsidy policy in order not to further plunge the nation into problems, adding that there would be increased poverty among the citizens if the government goes ahead with the removal
The chairman of the labour union in Ekiti, Kolapo Olatunde who spoke while addressing newsmen on Wednesday in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital ahead of this year’s May Day celebration with the theme, ‘ Workers Right and Social, Economic Justice ‘ alongside his counterpart in the Trade Union Congress (TUC) Sola Adigun, noted that the labour leaders would not accept the removal without government doing the right thing by ensuring the optimal functionality of the nation’s refineries.
According to him, if the government insists on the removal, the workers would only accept an increase of the minimum wage to at least N100,000 across the country, saying that ripple effect of the subsidy removal would be devastating for the citizens especially workers.
Olatunde disclosed that removal of subsidy which will result in selling of petrol for as high as N500 per litre would have immediate impact on the prices of goods and services in the country, thereby increasing the disturbing trend of poverty level and economic challenges in the country
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