Akani Alaka
As some reports over the weekend indicated, the Bola Tinubu administration will enter into a negotiation with the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and its affiliate unions this Monday to avert the two-day total strike scheduled to begin on Tuesday, 5th September.
The NLC announced last Friday that it would call out members of its 52 affiliate unions across the country for the two-day warning strike in protest against the hardship in the country.
Joel Ajaero, the President of NLC said the strike scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday might be followed by long-drawn industrial action that would result in a total shutdown of the nation if the Tinubu administration fails to take urgent steps to alleviate excruciating mass suffering being faced by Nigerians following the removal of fuel subsidy.
The NLC President who spoke to reporters at the end of the National Executive Council meeting of the congress in Abuja accused the Tinubu administration of refusal to “engage and reach an agreement with the organised labour on critical issues on the consequences of the unfortunate hike in prices of petroleum products which has unleashed massive suffering on Nigerian workers and masses.”
He added that the NLC NEC, therefore, decided to “embark on a total and indefinite shutdown of the nation within 14 working days or 21 days from today until steps are taken by the government to address the excruciating mass suffering and impoverishment being experienced around the country.”
Reports from across the country indicated that labour leaders are getting their members ready for the strike despite indications of invitation of the union leaders for talk by the government.
“Our demands are heavy; they are not what the government can meet between now and Tuesday. We are going on strike and this is a warning strike. This is to demonstrate to the government our determination, commitment and preparedness to embark on strike, so they would know that we mean business and we are prepared, committed to ensuring that the right things are done for Nigeria,” Assistant National Secretary, NLC Christopher Onyeka, said while responding to questions on if the union would call off its strike if it got a favourable response from the government in an interview over the weekend.
100 Days Of Pain
Significantly, the 5th September strike is coming up the same week Tinubu will mark his first 100 days in power. Unarguably, the lives of Nigerians under the administration have been defined so far by the ‘subsidy is gone’ inserted by the president in his May 29 inauguration speech as well as his later decision to devaluate or float the naira.
The removal of fuel subsidy led to an increase in the pump price of petrol from N195 before the swearing-in of the president on May 29 to N550 per litre a few hours after he assumed office with the knock on effect on prices of goods and services across the country and unmitigated sufferings for Nigerians.
Many Nigerians were forced to abandon their vehicles as they could no longer afford to fuel them while others could no longer afford transport fares to their places of work and other engagements. Worse still, federal universities and unity schools across the country had added to the pains of Nigerians with the announcement of an increase in fees and other dues for their students.
The government had consequently set up a tripartite Presidential Committee on Subsidy Removal to negotiate with labour following the threat of protest over the hardship inflicted on Nigerians by its policies with Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila leading the process.
However, before any concrete agreement could be reached on how to mitigate the effects of the fuel subsidy removal, petroleum marketers again jacked up the price of petrol to N617 per litre.
Marketers said the price increase was in response to the continuous fall in the value of the naira as a result of the floating of the currency by Tinubu’s administration since the product is being imported.
Unfulfilled Promises
The NLC had in the aftermath of the new increase in fuel price in July issued a seven-day ultimatum to the government to reverse all “anti-poor” and “insensitive policies”, notably, the hike in petrol prices and public school fees, among others.
Consequently, the NLC and the Trade Union Congress, TUC of Nigeria on August 2 embarked on a nationwide protest to protest the hardship inflicted on Nigerians by the removal of fuel subsidy and other policies of the Tinubu administration.
Ajaero and his TUC counterpart, Festus Osifo had led the Nigerian workers in the rally that started from the Unity Fountain to the National Assembly where the lawmakers promised to look into their demands. Even more remarkable, Ajaero and Osifo met the president later in the day. The labour leaders had called off the protest after the meeting, saying the president would be given time to fulfil demands of the workers on how to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal and other policies.
They added that the president agreed to take action on the demands of labour on how to mitigate the effects of fuel subsidy removal.
“He committed to an immediate restructuring of the framework for engagement in line with the input of the
Labour leaders.
“He let out a certainty that the Port Harcourt Refinery will commence production by December this year.
“He pledged to ensure that an agreement is reached on the wage award for Nigerian workers immediately.
“He promised to unveil a workable roadmap to the CNG alternative next week. On the strength of the president’s pledge and commitment, we have decided for a return to a new and reinvigorated dialogue process to allow for full implementation,” Ajaero said.
However, the labour leaders called for the two-day warning strike over the allegation that the president has failed to fulfil his promise to the union.
Palliatives Of Controversies
The Tinubu administration had tried to shift the responsibility of implementing measures to cushion the effects of the removal of fuel subsidy to the states. About two weeks after its meeting with the labour leaders, President Tinubu, through the National Economic Council, NEC had approved N5 billion for each of the 36 states for procurement of food items and fertilisers.
States were to purchase 100,000 bags of rice and 40,000 bags of maize, as well as fertilisers, among other items with the money.
The Federal Government was also to release five trucks of rice to each state. Also, the states were given the responsibility of coming up with registers on how to deploy the $800 million loan from the World Bank for the benefit of the vulnerable segment of Nigerians.
Wale Edun, the Coordinating Minister for the Economy told journalists last Friday that N2 billion out of the promised N5 billion has been released to all the states and the FCT. The states have also confirmed receipts of trucks of rice and many have announced commencement of distribution of the grains.
However, the utilization of the funds and distribution of the rice palliatives have been characterized by controversies. The governors were accused of turning the palliatives into a bazaar for their party members and other favoured groups to the detriment of the generality of the people.
Not Enough
Ajaero had also faulted the Federal Government’s palliatives, as he noted that the provisions are not enough to cushion the effect of the removal of fuel subsidy.
“If you share that N5 billion or even the five trucks of rice or grain, many people may not get one or half cup of rice. If you share the N5 billion, many people, probably within the working class or the poor of the poor, may not get N1,500. Now, is that the palliative?” said the NLC president.
According to him, the palliatives promised by the government are “mere tokenism”, that cannot assuage the effect of fuel subsidy. He added that the funds could have been invested in transportation for the general benefit of the people.
“For every day a worker moves from his house to the office and comes back with a reduced transportation rate, he may save N1,000 daily. If he tries that for 28 days or even 20 days, he may be saving about N20,000 on transportation alone. That’s a policy. That would help even the farmer who moves his goods and services from one point to the other,” said the NLC president.
No Plan
For Godwin Obaseki, the Governor of Edo State, the palliative as promised by the Tinubu administration is “fraudulent” and “deceitful” and evidence of the government’s “inability to plan and effectively respond to the fuel subsidy removal that has further impoverished Nigerians and inflicted hardship and suffering on them”.
However, a newspaper columnist, journalist and analyst, Waziri Adio noted that petrol subsidy removal and foreign exchange market reforms were necessary steps the Tinubu administration must take to rescue the economy.
But he noted that the impact of a general increase in the prices of goods and services should have been anticipated and adequate measures should have been put in place to counter the pains of the masses. “The palliative plan had to be literally forced out of the president, and when it finally came in bits and pieces, the plan was—and is still— all over the place.
“A more thoughtful approach would have aimed for better calibration, preferably with the reliefs frontloaded to coincide with and make the pains more bearable. The decisive Tinubu was absent on cash transfer to the most vulnerable,” he said while noting that the president should not have embarked on the removal of fuel subsidy and forex reforms at the same time.
“Both the petrol subsidy removal and forex reforms that looked like genius moves less than three months do not appear so bright again. The lesson here is that courage and swift actions are good, but when not backed with a clear-headed strategy, they could pass for impulsiveness,” he said while advising the president to henceforth be more methodical in his reforms.
Will the labour unions punish the president for the lack of a plan that has inflicted untold hardship on the people of the country during the week of its 100 days in office anniversary celebrations?