Fuel subsidy: NLC accuses Gbajabiamila of delaying negotiations with FG

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has charged that the federal government’s bargaining committee has fallen short of workers’ requests in the wake of the elimination of the fuel subsidy.

The committee, led by Femi Gbajabiamila, President Bola Tinubu’s chief of staff, has come under fire for allegedly failing to address the growing concerns of organized labor.

According to the labor congress, the government’s negotiating team was delayed in resolving the workers’ complaints because Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, would not meet with them.

In a meeting with Godswill Akpabio, the Senate President, and other key senatorial officials on Tuesday at the National Assembly, NLC national president Joe Ajaero made this point clear.

Members of the NLC protested the significant problems caused by the elimination of fuel subsidies by visiting the National Assembly building a few days prior to this meeting.

To restore economic stability and ease Nigerian residents’ suffering, the demonstrators requested an immediate reverse of the subsidy termination.

Ali Ndume, the main whip for the Senate, appealed for a seven-day deadline so that the Senate might step in and settle the conflict between labor and the government.

However, tensions are still high as Ajaero bemoaned the fact that Gbajabiamila won’t allow the labor leaders to have enough time to discuss the issues, which is delaying the demands of Nigerian workers.

“The problem with the formed committee is our task. The committee doesn’t seem to be competent. Since the time of Ikaite, as SGF, Kingibe, Pius Ayim, and Boss Mustapha, labor has no further to negotiate or engage with the government, Ajaero declared.

The president’s chief of staff, who is extremely busy, never phoned to initiate or lead negotiations, which caused the issues to be delayed. Despite the president’s vow to reorganize the method of contact with the government to assist matters be dealt with quickly, another meeting has not yet been scheduled in response to our objection.

The labor leader also expressed dissatisfaction that the committee Tinubu formed to examine minimum wage increases has not yet met to begin discussions.

Ajaero encouraged the Senate to play a proactive role in pressuring the federal administration to give the 8,000 palliatives to the appropriate recipients straight away.

To make sure that the most vulnerable households receive palliatives, he advocated for the development of a new data system.

In response to the labor leader’s worries, Akpabio vowed that the Senate would act as a go-between to make sure the federal government complied with the needs of the Nigerian workforce.