Petrol subsidy removal: Nationwide labour protest kicks off amid heavy security

The organized labour on Wednesday made good their threat to embark on mass protests across the country over the hardships Nigerians particularly workers are going through following the removal of petrol subsidy by the Bola Tinubu administration.

The labour movement under the aegis of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) are accusing the government of insincerity and lack of commitment to come up with immediate, short term and long term measures to cushion the excruciating pains, hunger and other effects of the abrupt subsidy removal.

Persecondnews reports that workers in public and private sectors started massing as early as 7am across the country especially in Abuja, the nation’s capital, Lagos, Kano, Ibadan, Osogbo, Abeokuta, Kaduna among others for the protests which have been peaceful.

Security operatives were seen monitoring the mass action ostensibly to prevent it from being hijacked or infiltrated by miscreant gangs.

President Bola Tinubu had on May 29, 2023 removed subsidy on petrol during his inauguration speech with a litre of petrol jumping from N184 to over N620 and above.

The increase in petrol price has also affected food prices, public transportation as well as goods and services.

Persecondnews recalls that the NLC had last week issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Federal Government demanding the immediate reversal of what it called anti-poor policies of government including the recent hike in PMS (Premium Motor Spirit) price, increase in public school fees, and the release of the eight months salaries of university lecturers and workers withheld by the ex-President Muhammadu Buhari government.

The union also demanded an upward review of the minimum wage from N30,000, saying that since the subsidy removal, “the peace of mind of Nigerians has gone”.

Several meetings between the Presidency and the unions on palliatives for Nigerians suffering hardships in the wake of the petrol subsidy removal have yielded no meaningful results.

Also, the intervention of the Senate and the House of Representatives achieved no success as the unions insisted that the government’s palliatives package “was out of touch with the economic realities that Nigerians face”.

To pacify the aggrieved unions in a last-minute move, President Tinubu in a live broadcast to Nigerians on Monday night, promised to review workers’ salaries and minimum wage, among others.

He also announced a N75 billion palliative for the manufacturing sector, saying 75 businesses would benefit within a nine-month period spanning the third quarter of 2023 to the first quarter of next year.

According to President Tinubu, provision has been made “to invest N100 billion between now and March 2024 to acquire 3000 units of 20-seater CNG-fuelled buses”.

Tinubu also earmarked N100 billion for the cultivation of 150,000 hectares of rice and maize, and 100,000 hectares of wheat and cassava.

The NLC however faulted the palliative measures announced by the President to cushion the biting effect of petrol subsidy removal on Nigerians, saying “the promises and assurances made by President Tinubu is not the silver bullet that Nigerians expected”.

The NLC said the President was expected to tell Nigerians his plans to resuscitate public refineries which have been lying comatose for so many years but he was completely silent on the issue.

Meanwhile, there was a sizeable number of security operatives comprising officers of the Nigeria Police Force and the men of the Department of State Services (DSS) at the Unity Fountain, Abuja, just as there are security operatives at the different venues of the protests across the states.

National President of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, Mr Muhammed Ibrahim, representatives of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, National Union of Road Transport Workers among others also joined the protest in Abuja.

Addressing journalists at Unity Fountain, Abuja, on Wednesday during the protest, President of NLC, Joe Ajaero, disclosed that there are some hindrances in the commencement of the protest in some states.

He said: “Protests have taken off in all states bearing some hindrances in some places. We are aware of the Police efforts to stop the process in some areas.

“To be candid with you, nothing is stopping the protest. Based on responses from state governments, it is equally our determination whether the protest will be for today, tomorrow or next, not by using force to stop the people from expressing their views.

“We are here for the protest, to make a statement to Nigerians,” he said.