President of the Nigerian Labour Congress Joe Ajaero says the August 2nd protest date stands if nothing is done to ameliorate the suffering of Nigerians occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy.
Ajaero said this on Wednesday while speaking to ait.live after meeting with Federal Government’s Steering Committee on Palliatives led by the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen.
Asked about the outcome of the meeting, Ajaero said: “Well the outcome was very brief.
We met based on N520 increase and the committee that was set based on that and we agreed to work to realise the objectives that was set during the last moment.”
He also spoke on organised Labour’s position on the palliatives yet to be provided: “The two centers have made their position known and is before Nigerians, the TUC, the NLC, our position is known. And it’s public knowledge.”
Asked if Labour was going ahead with August 2nd plan protests if the Federal Government doesn’t reverse anti-labor policies, he said: “Well, policies? I wouldn’t know, we are going ahead with the protest because we have to be emphatic on what we put in our communique, to say we’re commencing protests from the 2nd.”
The President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo, asked if he was satisfied with the outcome of the meeting said: “Okay, we’ve had a meeting and the meeting majorly is to listen to the presentations that is coming from the Secretariat of the steering committee, so they have made presentation to us.
We made our robust inputs into it.
“Some of the things they presented we did not agree with them. So the areas we did not agree, we also made our inputs known because when you come to such meeting it is for government or its representatives to do a presentation. But it’s left for us to either agree or disagree.
“So during the meeting, we gave them sufficient feedback. And they also agreed to go and look at those feedbacks and get back to us on Friday.”
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The TUC president declined to mention the areas of disagreement saying, “We are still discussing, I don’t think it is good for us to be discussing those particular subjects now more so because they told us that they will come back to us by Friday and Friday is about 48 hours away.
“So it is better we hold on, we wait till Friday for them to give us feedback then we can go into the nitty gritty.”
Osifo also spoke on their expectations from the government: “What we want government to do is to address the plight of Nigerians. Nigerians are suffering, just as we said in our press conference few days ago, that Nigerians are suffering, that things are hard, that things are difficult because things are difficult today in Nigeria, you must roll up programmes that will ameliorate the suffering, because at the end of the day, it is about Nigerians, because government exists in order to take care of the downtrodden, majorly.
“So all we are saying is that government must as a matter of urgency because we don’t have that time anymore. So as a matter of urgency must roll out various programs that will create alternative to PMS, and also palliatives.
“So these are the two focus, alternative to PMS, that is about the CNG and also the palliatives that must be brought out to ameliorate these sufferings Nigerians are passing through.”
Asked the timeline, he said: “We are meeting again on Friday. So, when we meet on Friday, we will hear from them, they can tell us that by Monday morning, they will start rolling them out here so we meet on Friday.”
On her part, the Special adviser to the president on energy Olu Verhigen said the federal government will continue to engage with the Labor unions: “We’ve agreed to continue to make progress. It was a very productive meeting. The focus was really around how we fast-track a lot of the interventions that will bring relief, particularly around CNG, mass transportation, cleaner energy, transportation, and reduce the impact of the cost of transportation, the increased cost of transportation.
“So we’ve made good progress. And we’re going to continue to do so and so that we can start rolling out these opportunities and this relief and measures as quickly as possible.”
On why government is yet to roll out palliatives, she said: “We have to get it right. It’s important that we do this well, and we keep our promises. So, it’s important that whatever is announced actually gets done. Because we don’t want to make big announcements that will continue to lose people’s trust.
“It’s important that we build trust, and that most of the announcements and the plans that we roll out are credible and impactful.”
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is working assiduously to address all of these issues. And as quickly as he can. He’s very empathetic, he is concerned about it, as you’ve seen all of us working round the clock here to make sure that we are able to announce these measures as quickly as possible. It’s a whole package of issues that we’re rolling out as quickly as possible,” the presidential aide assured.
(Editor :Paul Akhagbemhe)
