Subsidy removal: We played politics with ‘Occupy Nigeria’ protest in 2012 — Fayemi admits
…Disruptions hit banks, power supply, as NLC embarks on strike
…Beneficiaries of subsidy out to frustrate Tinubu’s policies – VP Shettima laments
…FG meets with TUC, sets two weeks deadline to resolve Labour demands
Former Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, and Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Kayode has confessed that the Action Congress of Nigeria (now the morphed into the All Progressives Congress) played politics when it organised the ‘Occupy Nigeria’ protests to resist the removal of fuel subsidies by the President Goodluck Jonathan administration in 2012.
The Former Governor admitted this while delivering remarks at a national dialogue organised in commemoration of the 60th birthday celebration of the founding National Secretary of Alliance for Democracy and Fellow, Abuja School of Social and Political Thought, Professor Udenta Udenta in Abuja, on Tuesday.
Commenting on the controversy generated by Jonathan’s attempt to remove fuel subsidies, Fayemi said, “All political parties in the country agreed and they even put in their manifesto that subsidy must be removed.
“We all said subsidy must be removed. But we in ACN at the time, in 2012, we know the truth Sir, (referring to Jonathan) but it is all politics.”
While condemning what he described as Nigeria’s politics of “winners take all,” Fayemi noted that the nation’s challenges today cannot be surmounted until such a time the nation embraces what he described as proportional representation.
Under such an arrangement, he explained, contestants across party lines share political offices or form a unity government at the end of electioneering based on their performance.
He said, “We must look at proportional representation so that the party that is said to have won 21 per cent of the votes will have 21 per cent of the government. Adversary politics bring division and enmity.”
He equally confessed that the last time Nigeria experienced economic development was during the Jonathan’s administration.
Fayemi said, “Today, I read former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s interview in The Cable saying our liberal democracy is not working and we need to revisit it, and I agree with him. We must move from the political alternatives. I think we are almost on a dead end of that.
“What we need is alternative politics and my own notion of alternative politics is that you can’t have 35 per cent of the vote and take 100 per cent. It won’t work,” He said.
…Disruptions hit banks, power supply as NLC embarks on strike
Meanwhile, the nationwide strike embarked upon by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Tuesday informed disruption of power as electricity supply across the country was affected.
The NLC strike recorded partial compliance in Kwara, Ogun, Lagos, Ekiti, Delta, Kebbi, Enugu, and full complaince in Niger, Benue, Taraba, Rivers, Anambra, Nasarawa, Abia, Edo, Kaduna, Osun, and Kano.
Electricity workers on Tuesday joined the two-day strike action by the NLC, majorly driven by the hardship which trailed petrol subsidy removal by President Tinubu, and the settlement demands of the organised labour for palliatives, substantive enough to cushion the impacts of the policy.
Following a cut in supply, electricity distribution companies (DisCos) on Tuesday issued notices to consumers alerting them of the situation.
For instance, in its notice to customers, the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) blaming the general power outage across its franchise area on the strike, said, “We are aware of the general power outage being experienced across our franchise due to enforcement by NLC of the 2-day warning strike embarked upon by the labour union.
“We apologise for any inconvenience you may be experiencing as a result of this, as we continue our engagement with key stakeholders towards minimising the impact of the strike on our customers.
“In the meantime, we recommend that you take necessary precautions to manage the outage effectively. Kindly unplug sensitive electronic devices and appliances from power sources pending the restoration of power.
“We will continue to provide updates on developments regarding the impact of the strike action on our operations through our official social media handles.”
Similarly, the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company, Kaduna Electric, in a statement by its Head Corporate Communications, Abdulazeez Abdullahi explained that the action by its workers had shut down its feeders.
The statement read, “We regret to announce that the outage being experienced currently in our franchise states is due to the warning strike embarked upon by the Nigerian Labour Congress and its affiliate unions.
“The action has necessitated the shutting down of all 33KV feeders by the striking workers. We hope the impasse between the federal government and the NLC shall be resolved soonest so that power supply can be restored.”
In Osun, members of the National Union of Electricity Employees joined the warning strike as reports revealed some workers of Osogbo Region Transmission Company of Nigeria were locked out of the premises, while the Osogbo head office of Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company was under lock and key.
Meanwhile, the NLC protests in some States suffered partial compliance, as it was gathered members of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), following withdrawal of the national leadership did not join the strike.
In Lagos, for instance, there was partial compliance by government workers, though port activities at the Apapa and Tin-Can Island ports were paralysed.
In other ports across the Country, including those of Port Harcourt, Onne, Warri and Calabar activities were grounded in compliance with the NLC directive.
The President-General, Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Comrade Adewale Adeyanju confirmed total compliance of the Union with the NLC directive.
Adeyanju, who is also the Deputy President of NLC, also said that no cargo evacuation process is taking place at any port in the Country.
…Beneficiaries of subsidy out to frustrate Tinubu’s policies – VP Shettima laments
The Vice President of Nigeria, Senator Kashim Shettima in the same vein, has lamented that beneficiaries of the subsidy regime who have lost out are determined to frustrate President Tinubu’s policies and programmes.
The VP speaking at the 16th Annual Banking and Finance Conference organised by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) said the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration remains committed to its decisions, policies and programmes and vowed that the removal of subsidy is irrevocable.
Addressing the audience, Vice President Shettima stated that “we know the consequences of unveiling a masquerade. We know the fuel scam industry is a very hugely loaded industry, they will make every effort to undermine us but as I said earlier, the removal of fuel subsidy is irrevocable; truly we are in dire straits.”
Speaking on the consequences of recent government policies and programmes especially the removal of subsidy, Sen. Shettima said, “I must announce with pride that our decisions are already yielding tangible results, with both state and federal governments now enjoying more substantial allocations.
“These funds promise a direct and positive impact on the lives of our citizens. Without the serially unaccounted fuel subsidies, we can now redirect our savings towards more deserving causes.”
He, however, called on the banking community to join the government in rejuvenating the economy.
“We must now do what pessimists may regard as impossible: turning the economy around in record time. We seek your partnership in getting this done. We cannot take your support for granted.”
“This journey towards economic rejuvenation is not one to be undertaken in isolation. It is a call to forge robust partnerships with strategic nations and multilateral organisations, for in unity, Nigeria can reposition itself as a formidable, globally competitive partner.
“We have resolved to prioritise food security and ending poverty. We are prioritising economic growth and job creation. We are prioritising access to capital and improving security,” he said.
…FG meets with TUC, sets two weeks deadline to resolve Labour demands
The Federal Government has met with the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) who have agreed to give the government two weeks to address some of the grievances of the Congress.
Recall that the Trade Union pulled out of the scheduled protest by the Nigeria Labour Congress.
A statement issued by the Director, Press and Public Relations, the Ministry of Information and National Orientation, Olajide Oshundun, on Tuesday, said, “The meeting was convened by the Minister to resolve TUC’s and Nigeria Labour Congress’ differences with government and to avert the pending warning strike by organised labour.
“According to Lalong, the issues for which a two-week timeline was set for their resolution include wage award for federal civil servants to cushion the effect of rising poverty among them, and tax exemption for a certain level of workers, both in the public and private sectors.
“The other issues on the two-week timeline are to put structures in place to ensure effective implementation of the palliatives declared by the Federal Government for the states and the FCT, and to set out the modalities for accessing the N70 billion proposed for the funding of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), among others.”
The Minister declared that after the two weeks, the meeting would reconvene for further discussions, and added that the parties understood that some of the issues were urgent, while some would require a long span of time to resolve.
According to Lalong, the parties also agreed that there would be no strike within this peace period of two weeks “while we are doing deliberations and also working towards realising some of these objectives.”
The President of the TUC, Comrade Festus Osifo, stated that the two-week timeline was reasonable, as it would give the government ample time to address the issues.
He disclosed that at the commencement of the meeting, the leadership of TUC was pushing for a one-week timeline for the resolution of issues in dispute, but had to reconsider after weighing government constraints, stating, “We also need to be pragmatic.”
Osifo stated that their demands, as contained in a communique earlier issued by the Congress, include resolving the impasse between Lagos State Government and Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), increasing the amount provided for palliative as the sum of N5billion allocated per state is inadequate to ameliorate the sufferings of Nigerians.
