By – Memoye Oghu (Port Harcourt)
The Rivers State chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Sir (Comrade) Ikechukwu Onyefuru has said that the unilateral decision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to remove subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as fuel is illegal, draconian and ill-timed.
Comrade Onyefuru made the assertion known in an exclusive interview with our Correspondent in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital on Thursday.
The state TUC chairman, who is also the Shell branch chairman of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) opined that, “Our take is very clear. It’s draconian, it’s ill-timed and it’s a demonstration of government insensitivity to the plight of Nigerians. It was done on a day that Nigerians never expected.
“Infact, in our view, the federal government has murdered sleep because on a day that was supposed to be a day of hope; on a day that was supposed to be a day of expectations; on a day that was supposed to be a day of trust building, the federal government decided to go negative by announcing an intent that’s clearly meant to dehumanize and continue to impoverish Nigerians.
“So, our take is very simple. Subsidy, yes, we’re not saying no to subsidy removal because subsidy itself is a scam. But what we’re saying is that before you remove subsidy provide infrastructure for Nigerians; provide means of available and affordable transportation for Nigerians. Provide or create job opportunities for Nigerians.
“Today, we’re ranking the highest in terms of unemployment rate in the whole world at 33.33%. It’s very sad indeed. Get back and do those things that would directly impact on the lives of Nigerians. Drive inflation low and get Nigerians to continue to survive.”
He went further to say that, “if you haven’t done these and you haven’t demonstrated the willingness to even do these things, how’re we sure that if you remove fuel subsidy and begin to sell fuel at N700 or N511 as of today, how are we sure that the funds that you’ll recover from subsidy removal will be applied to the benefit of Nigerians. We don’t trust government to do that because in the past they’ve made several promises which they never kept.”
According to him, the fuel subsidy removal is illegal because the 2023 Appropriation law made provisions for fuel subsidy up to the month of June this year and the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) provides for stakeholders engagement before the removal of fuel subsidy. “It’s completely illegal to the extent that, yes, the 2023 Act; don’t forget that the PIA was passed and its provisions are there and it also provided for engagement of stakeholders because you can’t go and hide under just one section without asking what is the intent of that section.
“The intent of that section is to ensure that Nigerians receive the best services in Nigeria. The intent wasn’t to impoverish Nigerians and the framework to deliver that intent is also clear. You must engage all the stakeholders . . . we condemn that act and demand that the federal government rescind that decision without further delay. Otherwise, organize labour would be forced to deploy her might to protect Nigerians and her members.”