NLC meets with governments to discuss fuel subsidy remedies

Weeks after President Bola Tinubu eliminated the fuel subsidy, some state chapters of the Nigeria Labour Congress have started talks with their respective state governments about how to mitigate the effects of the subsidy removal.

This occurred as organized labor made a national commitment to uphold the strict adherence to state-level agreements.

The source claims that during his inaugural speech at Eagle Square in Abuja, Tinubu declared that the fuel subsidy era was over and that further payments were no longer warranted in light of the 2023 budget’s lack of a fuel subsidy provision.

The Federal Government has been requested by organized labor to provide palliative measures to lessen the impact of the removal of subsidies on workers met with representatives of the Federal Government and organized labor.

Our correspondent checked on Monday and found that the committee has five weeks to submit its report.

According to information obtained by our correspondent, some state chapters of the NLC intend to meet with state governors to discuss strategies for mitigating the effects of the subsidy.

Several state governments, including those in Kwara, Edo, and Taraba, among others, have already announced special interventions for citizens; however, no regular interventions for workers have been announced.

Pascal Iheme, the state chairman of the NLC in Abia State, confirmed to our correspondent during an interview that the state NLC would meet with Governor Alex Otti on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, we will meet with the state governor. We’ll talk about the minimum wage’s implementation as well as the subsidy issue. We will meet on Wednesday, and you will hear about the updates.

Our correspondent in Ekiti State discovered that the state NLC had written to Governor Biodun Oyebanji regarding the situation.

Olatunde Kolapo, the NLC’s Ekiti State Chairman, continued, “We were supposed to meet last week, but we weren’t there. This week, we will meet with the governor, and hopefully by the end of the week, we will announce our official position.

It’s crucial to understand that we will require the national body’s template in order for it to assist us in our negotiations with the state government.

Buba Wadumayi, the NLC’s secretary in Taraba State, told our correspondent that the state’s NLC was anticipating a meeting with the state’s leadership.

“At the moment, we are not in contact with the new governor. However, we had a number of meetings with the former governor prior to his resignation, with a focus on the minimum wage in particular.

“We also desire a meeting with the new governor. He previously scheduled a visit with us as a courtesy, but due to delays and heavy workloads, we were unable to meet with him.

All signs point to the fact that he is prepared and eager to work. We are looking forward to meeting with him because he has already begun working to ensure that past-due pensions owed by the previous administration are paid, Wadumayi said.

Terungwa Igbe, the state NLC chairman in Benue State, informed our correspondent that after talks between the national secretariat of the NLC and the federal government, the labor union would meet with the state government.

He declared, “We will adopt and present to our state government what they discuss. Therefore, we won’t meet until after the negotiations are over.

The national organized labor has pledged to make sure that state governments abide by the agreements reached during negotiations between the federal government and the organized labor.

According to Tommy Etim, national vice president of the Trade Union Congress, “We will ensure that we monitor and enforce compliance by state governors.”