Subsidy pains: Labour insists on protest as Tinubu okays N500bn palliative, 3,000 buses
•FG begins discussions with NLC today and proposes pay increases, help for MSMES, and other things.
•NLC criticizes FG reforms; Lagos cuts fares as Oyo and Osun experience protests
Despite President Bola Tinubu’s Monday announcement of subsidy removal palliative plans, organized labor has stated that it will still hold its scheduled statewide demonstration on Wednesday.
In a national broadcast, Tinubu launched a N500 billion palliative for farmers, small companies, and manufacturing. He also announced plans to buy 3,000 public transport buses and raise pay.
Despite the President’s last-minute attempts to stop the demonstration, Joe Ajaero, the president of the Nigeria Labour Congress, declared that the event will proceed as planned.
After Monday’s negotiations between organized labor and the Federal Government ended in a deadlock, Ajaero spoke shortly after. On Tuesday (today), the discussion is anticipated to get back up.
The Aso Rock Villa in Abuja hosted the Presidential Steering Committee on Palliatives meeting between the government and labor.
“We just broke up in order to go hear Mr. President speak and to resume our chat tomorrow (Tuesday). After the meeting, Ajaero told journalists that the peaceful rally will proceed as planned and had been “adjusted.”
Ajaero assuaged concerns that the peaceful demonstration could be hijacked by thugs by claiming that this had never happened during any of its workers’ demonstrations.
However, he asserted that it was the responsibility of security authorities to protect participants in such drills.
The steering committee deferred its meeting till Tuesday at noon.
Ajaero responded to Tinubu’s economic changes, particularly those involving the currency rate and others, by saying: “How are you going to regulate it when you have a single market (exchange rate) and nothing that gives you a comparative advantage?
“How will you manage someone who exchanged a dollar for roughly N900? Are you going to advise him to sell for less?
“With the high cost of production today, how are you going to tell even the discos not to raise their tariff? Even grain, which in the villages sold for N18,000 in February, is now approximately 56,000. How do you intend to manage it?”
The meeting was adjourned after topics related to the subsidy withdrawal were discussed, according to the Chief of Staff for the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.
Additionally, he said that the government was tackling the oil cabals that were harming the country’s economy.
“We have been locked behind for a few of hours, we had a good meeting, and concerns centered around government intervention on the situation in Nigeria today were hammered out, the speaker added.
We decided to adjourn until tomorrow because the President is making a nationwide broadcast today, as you are aware. We agreed to extend the meeting until 12 p.m. tomorrow (Tuesday) so that labor could decide whether or not they wanted to continue the protest on Wednesday based on what we believe Mr. President will tell Nigerians.
However, he continued, “We think that after tonight’s show, the President will respond to all the issues, he will roll out his interventions, and needless to say, we think any rational person will tell you that at that time there will be no need for any demonstration.”
He made the case that the previous administration had not budgeted for subsidies and that President Tinubu was implementing palliatives to lessen the impact on the populace, which is why the government did not implement them prior to ending the subsidy regime.
Nuhu Ribadu, national security adviser, pleaded with organized labor in a separate speech to give the administration some time to repair the economy.
“The conference provided an opportunity for us to plead to the labor leaders, and by extension Nigerians, that we are confronting issues and obstacles that are not of our doing,” he said.
“We inherited a terrible predicament. The majority of the issues people are discussing are not the result of this administration.
We have a President who is listening and interacting, someone who wants to have a dialogue and react, even if this government has only been in place for a short time.
Ajaero, Festus Osifo, the General Secretary of the NLC, Emma Ugbaja, Nuhu Toro, and other representatives of organized labor, including Prof. Sam Amadi, were present at the meeting on Monday.
Gbajabiamila, the chief of staff to the president, Dr. Folashade Yemi-Esan, Kachollom Daju, the permanent secretary of the ministry of labor and employment, Mele Kyari, the group chief executive officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, and Olu Verheijen, the special adviser to the president on energy, were among those representing the FG.
Additionally, Chris Onyeka, the national assistant secretary of the NLC, declared: “Our protest is a mass protest and it is irreversible. Just keep in mind that we didn’t base the notice on the previous hikes. Ours is based on Premium Motor Spirit’s N617 price hike. First, the Federal Government must address it.
Tinubu reveals his ideas
While simultaneously promising a raise in worker pay, Tinubu on Monday announced the release of N500 billion in palliative funds.
The President also announced that 3,000 buses will be provided to address the high transportation costs caused by the increase in fuel pump prices in an effort to ease the suffering of Nigerians who are suffering from the pains of the loss of fuel subsidies.
After darkness comes the lovely dawn, Tinubu proclaimed in a Monday night national broadcast.
The news comes less than 24 hours before the Nigerian Labour Congress plans to strike and protest the termination of the fuel subsidy and the Federal Government’s inability to take any measures to ease the hardships that will follow.
But after spending some time to discuss the rationale behind the policy decisions his government had made thus far to address the nation’s economic problems, the President announced plans to introduce 3,000 CNG-powered mass transit buses in states and local council districts.
According to him, the federal government is collaborating closely with state and local authorities to put initiatives into place that will ease people’s suffering regardless of their socioeconomic status.
He claims that distributing the buses to municipal and state governments for mass transit at a far lower cost is a component of the concept.
He stated that between now and March 2024, his administration planned to invest N100 billion to buy 3,000 20-seater CNG-fueled buses.
He added that participating transportation businesses will have access to financing under this facility at a rate of 9% per year with a 60-month repayment period. The buses, he said, will be shared to key transportation companies in the states using the intensity of travel per capital.
In the same line, we are also collaborating with the labor unions to establish a new national minimum wage for workers,” Tinubu said. Your salary review is coming, I want to let our employees know.
We will include funding in the budget for the new minimum wage and general upward review as soon as we come to an agreement on them.
He claims that a staggering N500 billion will be allocated to manufacturers, small and medium-sized businesses, and farmers for the palliatives that will be implemented.
Our objective to assist the year-round cultivation of 500,000 hectares of farmland is still on track,” he declared. Out of the N500 billion agreed by the National Assembly, N200 billion would specifically be distributed as follows:
“Our administration will spend N50 billion ($500,000) to grow maize and rice on 150,000 hectares. The cultivation of 100,000 hectares of wheat and cassava would also receive N50 billion apiece.
This extensive agricultural initiative will be conducted with a focus on small-holder farmers and by utilizing powerful, large-scale private sector partners in the agribusiness.
To create a workable and suitable transaction framework for all parties, “in this regard, the knowledge of Development Finance Institutions, commercial banks, and microfinance institutions would be drawn into.
Tinubu acknowledged that the economy was going through a rough patch and said this was having a negative impact on people’s lives, citing rising fuel and food costs as examples.
He stated that his administration wanted to lessen the difficulty that the current economic climate has placed on people, businesses, the working class, and the most vulnerable in order to ameliorate the suffering.
“Earlier this month, I signed four Executive Orders in keeping with my electoral commitment to confront unfavorable fiscal policies and multiple levies that are suffocating the economic environment,” the President said.
“These Executive Orders on the suspension and deferred beginning of some taxes will give enterprises in the manufacturing sector the necessary buffers and headroom to continue to thrive and expand.”
“We are planning to spend N75bn between July 2023 and March 2024 to enhance the manufacturing sector, increase its potential to develop, and create decent paying jobs.” Our goal is to provide funding for 75 businesses that have the ability to grow their economies sustainably, accelerate structural change, and increase productivity.
Every one of the 75 manufacturing companies would have access to N1 billion in credit at a rate of 9% per year, with maximum payback terms of 60 months for long-term loans and 12 months for working capital.
In addition to revealing further palliatives, Tinubu said, “Our administration recognizes the importance of micro, small, and medium-sized firms and the informal sector as drivers of growth. With N125bn, we plan to reenergize this crucial industry.
Between now and March 2024, we will spend N50 billion on conditional grants to one million nano companies. The 1,300 owners of nano businesses in each of the 774 local governments across the nation are to get N50,000 each as part of our goal.
The program’s ultimate goal is to increase financial inclusion by integrating its participants into the established banking system. Similarly, we will invest N75 billion in 100,000 MSMEs and start-ups. Each enterprise promoter will be eligible for between N500,000 and N1,000,000 under this program, with a 36-month repayment period and 9% annual interest.
a consolation for farmers
The Federal Government disclosed that it has a multi-stakeholder interaction with different farmers’ organisations and operators along the agricultural value chain in order to further ensure that food item costs remain affordable.
The administration promised to make sure that basic goods are accessible and reasonably priced in the short and immediate future.
In order to control prices, I’ve authorized the release of 200,000 metric tonnes of cereals from strategic stockpiles to households in the 36 states and FCT. We are also giving farmers who support our food security plan 225,000 metric tonnes of fertilizer, seedlings, and other inputs, the President revealed.
According to Tinubu, he has been advocating for the elimination of the gasoline subsidy for a number of years. He emphasized that the once-helpful policy had outlived its usefulness and was now costing the nation trillions of naira annually.
He said that such a large sum of money would have been better used on housing, healthcare, education, and even national defense.
Instead, it was going into the luxurious bank accounts and deep pockets of a small number of people. The President noted that this group had accumulated so much wealth and influence that they posed a major threat to the fairness of our economy and the integrity of our democratic administration.
He asserted that as long as such little, strong, and unelected groups continue to exert significant influence over Nigeria’s political economy and the institutions that oversee it, the country would never be the society it was designed to be.
Asserting that “If we are to be a democracy, the people and not the power of money must be sovereign,” the President stated that the whims of the few should never hold sway over the goals and aspirations of the many.
The former governor of Lagos State said that his predecessor did not include a provision for the fuel subsidy beyond June in the 2023 Appropriations, declaring that “removal of this once useful device that had evolved into a weight around the country’s neck had become inevitable.”
He emphasized the benefit of the subsidy’s withdrawal once more by claiming that it had raised government revenue.
He said that in just two months, over N1 trillion had been saved, which the government will use to fund programs such as student loans and other initiatives.
We have prevented the wasteful gasoline subsidy, which solely benefited smugglers and fraudsters, from costing over a trillion naira in just over two months. Now, you and your families will benefit more immediately and directly from the usage of that money.
For instance, we will keep our promise to make college more affordable for everyone and to offer loans to students pursuing higher education who may require them. He promised that no student in Nigeria would have to forgo their education due to a lack of funds.
He expressed concern for the inevitable delay between subsidy elimination and the implementation of the palliative, but added that the administration is working quickly to close the time gap.
The President promised to take action if and when necessary while stating that he was keeping an eye on the impact of inflation and the currency rate on fuel prices.
Speaking about the system of various exchange rates that had been eliminated, Tinubu called it “a highway of currency speculation.”
He claimed that money that should have been utilized to establish industries, generate jobs, and support enterprises for millions of people was instead diverted.
A select group of people who became extremely wealthy by simply transferring money from one hand to another received a generous distribution of our nation’s riches. He bemoaned that it furthered the harm that the illegal and massive amassing of wealth posed to the nation’s democratic system and economy and that it was also highly unjust.
Tinubu reaffirmed his commitment to addressing the economy’s significant imbalances in order to transform it for the long term.
He said that the key to winning this battle was ending the subsidies and the preferential exchange rate system.
The President acquiesced, saying, “As we moved to combat the economic problems, the folks who grow rich from them, predictably, will fight back through any means possible.”
Regarding the Infrastructure Support Fund, the President claimed that it would give the states the ability to take action, invest in crucial sectors, alleviate many of the problems, and upgrade their deteriorating healthcare and educational infrastructure.
“The fund will also upgrade access roads in rural areas to make it easier to transport farm produce to markets.” With the help of the fund, our states would become more financially stable and competitive, he promised, bringing economic prosperity to Nigerians.
Tinubu praised organized private sector businesses that have already instituted general compensation reviews for their staff.
He advised Nigerians to aim for the bigger goal and see past the moment’s fleeting discomforts.
In the meantime, a recent public opinion poll by NOIPolls found that 73% of adult Nigerians (who answered to the questionnaire) were struggling as a result of the consequences that followed the elimination of fuel subsidies.
The study found that 10% of respondents claimed they could no longer support their enterprises, while another 10% complained that their transportation costs had increased. Others claimed they were unable to handle the rising expense of products and services.
Some respondents said they had drastically lowered their traditional spending to deal with the hardship, while others said they had cut back on the amount of days they worked.
Further poll results showed that 52% of Nigerians thought the suffering brought on by the elimination of fuel subsidies was not worth it. Additionally, 50% of the respondents admitted that the present price of petrol is too high for them to afford.
LP responds
Yunusa Tanko, the chief spokesperson for the Labour Party’s presidential campaign, has also voiced worries about how President Bola Tinubu intends to pay for all the commitments he made to Nigeria on Monday night.
Following the President’s nationwide broadcast, Tanko is concerned.
The only hope in this situation, he continued, is that no amount of misleading information can prevail. There is a phrase that “a society that unites in corruption is sickening. It will lose air. This indicates that both the previous administration and the current one have made several promises on the current situation.
“Even this president is aware that the previous administration eliminated the fuel subsidy, which was, as we all know, a fraud from the start. Tinubu is still dealing with an illegitimate problem, which we are still contesting in court, so normally we shouldn’t even be calling him president.
“For example, when you are making all these promises, the thing you want to know is: Are all the things this president is mentioning budgeted for? Are the funds he intends to spend included in the budget? If you don’t have massive financial support, you can’t be promising the Nigerian people anything.
“I hope Nigeria won’t fall into the trap that was predicted for them in the past and under this government as well. This sentence doesn’t bother or excite us in any way. According to a popular saying, a dog doesn’t realize there is a party at his house until he spots fat bones on the ground.
