Subsidy Withdrawal: Abiodun meets labour leaders, mulls palliatives for workers

By Editor

Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun has met with the leadership of the State chapter of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and Joint Negotiation Council (JNC), to find a way of cushioning the hardship of the increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit popularly called petrol on the people, as a result of the subsidy removal.

Abiodun, at the meeting with the labour leaders in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, acknowledged the negative impact of the action on the disposable income of the workers, noting that it was imperative to rob minds with key stakeholders, as a responsive government and work out implementable options that would make life bearable for the people. 

He said the options should not be seen as compensation for the increase in the price of the product, but to reduce the impact.

The governor said, ‘’since the announcement of the subsidy removal, I have been concerned about the multiplier effects as it would affect workers in the course of going to job and how it would affect their responsibilities and wellbeing.

‘’We are not, as a responsible administration unmindful of the consequences the deregulation would cause in terms of its effect on the disposable income of the workers. We have noted that the price of petrol is now N500 from slightly above N200. There is a relationship between the cost of PMS and transportation and the cost of transportation and the cost of goods and services.     

The State helmsman observed that it was a hard decision on the part of President Ahmed Tinubu, noting that there was no budgetary allocation for subsidy.

“What obtained in the past was that N4 trillion was spent annually. We had to borrow the money to subsidize our energy cost and it was not efficiently utilized. Our petrol made their way to Cameroun, Benin Republic, Togo and other West African countries around us.

“We are confident that with this action, we can know the true consumption of PMS in Nigeria and the savings can be used for other sectors for the benefit of our people,” he said.

In his remarks, the State Chairman of NLC, Hameed Benco Ademola, said the meeting was called at the instant of the governor to find ways of cushioning the effect of the deregulation of petrol on civil servants and those in the informal sector.

Ademola commended the State helmsman for responding to the plight of workers, saying the gesture would go a long way in meeting their needs.

Those present at the meeting were chairmen and secretaries of the TUC, NLC and JNC, the Head of Service, Mr. Kolawole Fagbohun and some Permanent Secretaries.