Final Warning! Removal of Subsidy Will Set Nigeria on Fire

The much criticized 'anti-people' plan by the federal government of Nigeria to remove fuel subsidy, devalue the national currency and increase electricity tariff all within a short space would set the nation on fire, as the social consequences would be unbearable for majority of Nigerians, the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, warned on Wednesday, November 2, 2011.

This strong warning came as NLC also accused the Goodluck Jonathan-led administration of...

deliberately avoiding discussions with organised labour on the controversial planned fuel subsidy removal, but making frantic efforts to destabilise the labour movement.

At an interactive meeting with journalists in Lagos, leaders of NLC challenged the President to subject the planned subsidy removal to a referendum since it was not part of his electioneering campaign.

Represented by its Deputy President and Acting General Secretary - Joe Ajaero and Owei Lakemfa - the NLC said it would also move against additional state creation, arguing that most of the existing states are not viable.

On the issue of of naira devaluation, the Labour leaders said hike in electricity tariff and fuel subsidy removal had gone beyond organised labour, but now on the court of Nigerians who had said emphatic no to these policies, arguing that they were time bomb for chaos and social unrest.

“As at now, the federal government has not consulted labour on its plan to remove subsidy of fuel. NLC is not averse to any discussion because we are in the industry of negotiation and collective bargaining and we are the mouthpiece of the Nigerian people. If NLC does not champion this cause, other people will take up the issue and fight like it happened in Egypt and this would have social consequences in the country,” said Owei Lakemfa.

He noted that labour had commenced sensitisation of workers and the masses on how to resist government’s plan to remove fuel subsidy and such other policies, stressing that the policies are simply anti-development. In his words: "Nigerian workers and the masses have never benefited from the various policies of the present administration stressing that the result of such policy reforms had been closure of factories and job losses."

The NLC scribe pointed out that Nigerians have been deceived for too long by those in political offices that deregulation would bring down the prices of petroleum products as well as make them available.  He however added that such claims are false and that they'll continue to resist these policies until relevant issues are addressed in consultation with organised labour, as against to the scattered talks currently going on.

Addition reports by Vanguard.