Month: September 2023

The Nigeria Labour Congres (NLC) has declared a two-day warning strike, beginning on Tuesday, September 5, in protest against the Federal Government for failing to address the challenges caused by the removal of fuel subsidy.

The NLC President, Joe Ajaero, made the declaration on Friday during a press conference at the Labour House in Abuja, while speaking on resolutions by the NLC National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting the previous day.

The labour union is accusing the Federal Government of abandoning the negotiations and failing to implement some of the resolutions from previous meetings with the government.

On August 2, organised labour protested what it described as the anti-people policies of the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and their affiliate unions demonstrated in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and several states, including Lagos, Abia, Plateau, Kaduna, Kano, Rivers, Zamfara, Katsina, Cross River, Ebonyi, Enugu, Kwara, Ogun, Imo, Ondo, and Edo.

The protest followed a seven-day ultimatum issued to the Federal Government demanding “the immediate reversal of all anti-poor policies of the federal government including the recent hike in PMS (Premium Motor Spirit) price, increase in public school fees, the release of the eight months withheld salary of university lecturers and workers”.

The union also demanded an upward review of the minimum wage from N30,000 to N200,000, saying that since the President’s “subsidy is gone” inauguration speech of May 29, 2023, the peace of mind of Nigerians has gone.

Several meetings between the Presidency and the unions on palliatives for Nigerians suffering hardship in the wake of the petrol subsidy removal proved abortive.

N1,500 Per Person?
Last month, NLC president Joe Ajaero argued that the N5 billion approved for each state and the FCT to cushion the impact of fuel subsidy removal was inadequate to impact on the people.

Appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today August 18, Ajaero said if calculated, the N5 billion would not amount to N1,500 per person.

According to him, it is unclear whether the money is a loan or a palliative to the states or to Nigerians.

“The first increase in the pump price of petroleum products and the last one moved a lot of people from the borderline to a very high level of poverty,” he said.

“Now, if you calculate it, you will discover that this will not translate to N1,500 per person and you ask: is that the impact? Is that really what we want to achieve? Let’s assume it’s a loan. What is really going to happen? Is it garbage in, garbage out?

“If it is N5 billion, I think organised labour would want anybody to do the calculation and tell us how it is going to impact Nigerians on what is happening currently. If it is a loan, then it is too bad.”

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, has disclosed that the Federal Government would establish a Presidential Humanitarian and Poverty Alleviation Trust Fund.

Mrs Edu made the disclosure in Abuja on Thursday when she hosted members of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

“We want the issue of humanitarian response and poverty alleviation to be the top priority on our list. We would also need lots of financial help in terms of supporting programmes, processes, and helping with implementation,” she added.

She attributed the humanitarian crises across the country to natural and human-induced disasters, hence the need for intervention.

“We have a huge task on our hands. As we speak now, more than 16 million Nigerians are affected by humanitarian crises – either man-made or natural disasters.

While praising the Melinda Gates Foundation for supporting humanitarian causes in Africa, the minister urged it to sustain the tempo.

“We know what Bill Gates and Melinda Gates Foundation stands for in their support to African countries. Their support of poverty alleviation, healthcare, and other humanitarian crises has been almost unmatched.

“We believe that you can extend that right hand of fellowship to the ministry and Nigerians by extension,” she added.

Mrs Edu expressed optimism about the federal government`s determination to support vulnerable Nigerians affected by the humanitarian crises in the country through different interventions.

Jeremie Zoungrana, the Country Director of the foundation, assured the minister of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s readiness to work closely with the ministry to support Nigeria`s efforts at tackling the major humanitarian crises in the country.

Mr Zoungrana also expressed the foundation`s desire to engage with the different stakeholders in the sector to achieve the set objectives.

“The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation works in different humanitarian areas and I believe this will contribute to the minister`s mission especially considering that one of our areas of support is health.

“This is because we want everybody to live a healthy and productive life. When you are not happy you will not be productive.

“When you are productive you will not be poor. So, we want to make sure that we provide opportunities for everyone to contribute and the opportunities will reduce poverty,” he added.

According to him, the foundation will be interested in making investments in creating economic opportunities to reduce poverty through agriculture, financial inclusion, and digital innovation.

“We do understand that the humanitarian and poverty alleviation issues are very important areas and we have taken note of the areas in terms of the need for technical assistance to be able to set the agenda for what we can do as a programme to the ministry,” he noted.

He commended the minister for engaging with critical stakeholders with a view to providing support to the needy.

NAN