Subsidy: Why Nigerians should exercise patience with Tinubu, rights group warns NLC against strike

A Coalition of Civil Society Organisations and Political Parties for Good Governance (COSOSAP) has warned the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) against embarking on a nationwide strike or protest, saying such will complicate hardship for Nigerians.

The Labour Unions had given the federal government a-week ultimatum to reverse fuel subsidy removal and other policies consider to be anti-people.

But addressing a press conference Thursday in Abuja, National Coordinator of COSOSAP, Dr. Lillian Ene Ogbole, the oil subsidy regime can no longer be sustained as it constituted a source of monumental corruption and a clog in the wheels of the Nation’s progress in the last forty five years.

The group called on those opposed to the policy to exercise a little more patience and support the government to create the enabling environment that will improve the living standard of the larger majority of Nigerians.

According to Dr. Ogmore, no matter the perspective the situation is perceived from, Nigerians must be guided by the overriding national interest which is the continuous survival of our citizens under one indivisible entity.

“It is true that Nigerians desire and deserve to buy petrol at a cheaper rate, but again it is equally true that neither our economy, nor any other economy in the world can bear the brunt of the mega corruption associated with the fuel subsidy regime as was obtainable in Nigeria.

“It suffice therefore to say that, the only way our dear nation Nigeria would not go the way of failed states like Venezuela and Sri Lanka etc., is to obliterate the fuel subsidy regime.

“This accounted for why the last administration ended the fuel subsidy regime in the twilight of its tenure as evident in their refusal to make appropriation for fuel subsidy for the month of June 2023 and even subsequent months.”

While throwing their weights behind the decision by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to withdraw fuel subsidy in the country, the group acknowledged that the fuel subsidy removal has visited untold hardship on Nigerians but expressed optimism that Nigerians would surely have a sigh of relief going by the measures being put in place by the President Tinubu led administration in no distant time from now.

She said: “We use this medium to appeal for patience and understanding from all Nigerians as the historic and courageous struggle to bring to everlasting end the retrogressive and corrupt subsidy regime to pave way for robust and competitive open market operations and competitions vis a vis as in the telecommunication industry.

“Patience, not pressure, Encouragement, and not Rage, Should be our attitude towards the government of the day.

“We are a people with common goal and objective. Let us support this administration so that we can survive the current challenges of the transition from a regulated fuel subsidy based economy, to a fuel subsidy free economy.”

The rights group also welcomed and commended the President on the declaration of state of emergency on food security in the country.

“On this note, we welcome and commend the declaration of the State of Emergency on Food Security by the President. We expect his action to encourage a massive reduction and stability in the prices of food stuffs in the country.

“We call on all major stakeholders in the petroleum sector, to play by the rules to ensure that the effort to set the Nigerian economy on the path of growth and development is not frustrated and truncated.

“We use this avenue to call on Government regulatory agencies to expose and sanction any company that may indulge in the importation of substandard petroleum products into the country without hesitation.

“It is worthy of note therefore to mention emphatically that Nigeria Labour Congress cannot roll in the path of any form of industrial action either by way of protest or nationwide strike as this will further escalate more crisis and problem than what is presently obtainable.

“It is no news that the world at large is going through severe Post-Covid hardship; this has damaged several economies around the globe today. These information that are available for free on various global communication platforms. It will begin to send malicious signals both locally and internationally if what is rated as global crisis is being contained and handled by the umpire labour body in a way and manner that throw the country into uncontrollable uproar. The menace of difficult times and hardship can only be overcome through reasoning together and working in synergy to achieve prosperity and progress.”