The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has responded to comments made by Mr. Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who challenged claims made by the NLC President, Joe Ajaero.
It insisted that the Federal Government agreed not to increase the price of petrol during discussions over a new minimum wage.
Ajaero had in a statement on Tuesday, accused Tinubu of misleading labour leaders by increasing petrol prices contrary to their initial agreement during minimum wage negotiations.
Writing on his X handle, Abdulaziz claimed that no such offer was made and accused Ajaero of engaging in “dirty politics” with the emotions of Nigerians.
He wrote: “I sat through the two meetings President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had with Labour leaders on minimum. At neither of the meetings was an offer made in exchange for a fuel price hike. Ajaero is once again playing his dirty politics with the emotions of Nigerians”.
Reacting in a statement signed by Ben Upah, its spokesperson, the NLC said it found the denial by Abdulaziz “amusing”.
“We have since asked ourselves if he is suffering from selective amnesia or attention span deficit.”
“Whatever the matter is with Abdulaziz, we stand by our statement.
“And if Abdulaziz was at those meetings as he claimed, he should be courageous enough to let the world know whether the President gave the labour leaders one hour to meet and resolve to either accept and allow an increase or accept N62,000.
“Labour leaders instead chose to meet outside the Villa and report in a week. When they came back, they were blunt and rejected the offer.
“As for Abdulaziz’s side-dig, he should stop insulting the intelligence of Nigerians as they do not need Comrade Joe Ajaero to know they have been taken for a ride and that life has never been this mean, all due to the policies of the government.
“We also find it necessary to let Abdulaziz and those who sent him know that Nigerians are entitled to a decent, respectable life free from harassment, intimidation and starvation.
“Government may have all the ultimate weapons of coercion, true power resides with the people. Finally, we are also acutely conscious of the fact that falsehood does not live forever.”
However, the Democratic Front (TDF) has maintained that President Tinubu did not betray or deceive NLC on fuel price in arriving at the N70, 000 minimum wage. It said Labour and government mutually negotiated and agreed on the minimum wage.
In a statement signed by its Chairman, Mallam Danjuma Muhammad and Secretary, Wale Adedayo, TDF maintained that the president could not have been emphatic and decisive on the pump price of fuel in a deregulated market.
In a rather disheartening and incoherent manner, Mr. Joe Ajaero signed a statement alleging that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu betrayed the Labour Congress with the recent increase in the pump price of PMS by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL). The negotiation of the minimum wage was never debated as a condition to how much fuel would be sold.
“It is pertinent to state that President Tinubu never hid his desire or pretended over his preference to make the ideals and philosophy of a liberal free-market economy the focal point of his economic transformation agenda
“As a matter of fact, he announced an end to the age long petroleum subsidy regime in an unprecedented fashion, during his inaugural speech on 29th of May 2023, to herald the commencement of the end of state-controlled economic policies and protectionism in the Nigeria investment ecosystem.
“From our knowledge of the President’s enviable background as an experienced private sector player who majored in the oil and gas industry, we believe that he will not, for whatever reason, give personal guarantee or assurance to anybody or group, on a specific price of fuel in Nigeria, knowing fully well that in the absence of government subsidy, such prices are solely determined by the unpredictable dynamics of market forces.
“We, therefore, view the accusations against the President by Joe Ajaero as untrue and a ridiculous attempt to blackmail the President.
“It is all an attempt to divert public attention from a security investigation and an ongoing trial that directly links a foreigner accused of committing treasonable offences against the Nigerian state to the NLC Secretariat in Abuja.
“The factors that necessitated the recent hike in PMS price by NNPCL are not opaque, as it has been comprehensively explained by the organization itself.
“We understandably note that the withdrawal of fuel subsidy by the government, has compelled the NNPCL to respond to the dictates of market forces, in order to cope with the logistics of importing refined petroleum into the country. The increase in the pump price is to accommodate the landing cost of the product.”
The group, however, expects fuel price to crash with the expected infusion of locally refined fuel from Dangote Refinery into the Nigerian market
“We at TDF expect every responsible and patriotic organization in the country, NLC inclusive, to focus attention on the new oil sheriff in town, that is, Dangote and other private refineries in Nigeria with a view to ensuring that all the actions and incentives deployed by President Tinubu to encourage local refining succeed.
“This is the right path for the Joe Ajaero led NLC to follow, if truly they are sincere about reducing fuel price in the country.
“We want Nigerians to know that the down- stream petroleum sector is currently in transition mode from the era of imported fuel consumption to the utilisation of locally refined fuel.
“For us, the increase in fuel price is a true reflection of the market situation as obtained in the petroleum importation business.
But we have no doubt that with the far reaching measures put in place by President Tinubu to encourage local refining in Nigeria, the pump price of PMS will crash significantly, when the Dangote refinery begins to roll out its products into the market in the next few hours.
“It is on this note that we see the threat by Mr. Ajaero to resist the increase in pump price of petroleum, as self-serving, sadistic and unpatriotic.
“We also condemn and vehemently reject the emotive use of the N70,000 national minimum wage to hoodwink the unsuspecting public to believe that he and his egocentric colleagues mean well for the nation,” it noted.
Credit: The Sun