The leadership of the state chapters of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), and Joint Negotiation Council (JNC) met with the governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, to discuss how to ease the burden of the increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit, more commonly known as petrol, on the general public as a result of the removal of Fuel Subsidy.
Abiodun acknowledged the action’s detrimental effect on workers’ disposable income during a meeting with labour leaders in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta. He added that a responsive government needed to engage in thoughtful discussion with key stakeholders and develop workable solutions that would improve the quality of life for the populace.
He stated that people should not view the opportunity as a way to offset the price rise of the product but rather as a way to lessen its effects.
The governor stated, “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.”
Furthermore, he added that President Ahmed Tinubu’s decision to remove the Fuel Subsidy was difficult due to the lack of a budgeted subsidy provision.
“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.
cc: Vanguard Ng
