Adams Oshiomhole, a former governor of Edo State, expressed optimism that disagreements between the federal government and organised labour over the elimination of gasoline subsidies would be speedily handled.
President Bola Tinubu is aware of the effects the removal of gasoline subsidies is having on Nigerians, according to Oshiomhole, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, and is committed to move quickly to mitigate those effects.
“This president understands that the effects of the withdrawal are already in place, and people are already experiencing some level of discomfort, so a quick fix is required.
“Now that a quick solution is what we talked about—and the fact that we will meet again on Tuesday clearly demonstrates that—we understand that this is not something you want to put off because it has a genuinely detrimental impact, especially on the most vulnerable population.
But, we have a solution because you will save money; therefore, pull from your savings or even consider borrowing. Hence, you can increase pay and use some money to offset living expenses. This is legitimate and realistic, and it is not something you should spend two to three months discussing, Oshiomhole added.
The Federal Government and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) met on Sunday, and the former president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NUC) claimed the meeting was fruitful. He said that the government would consider all of the TUC’s demands and respond on Tuesday.
He claimed that the Federal Government could use some of the approximately N7 trillion Nigeria can save by ending subsidies to fund wage increases, as “those savings will go into the federation account which will be distributed among the three tiers of government and so every tier of government will have more money and should be able to meet the consequential increase in wages.”
