By Gom Mirian
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Tuesday kicked against the decision taken by President Bola Tinubu on his inaugural day to remove the ‘fuel subsidy’ and called for immediate withdrawal of the policy.
President, NLC, comrade Joe Ajaero who made the call in a statement made available to Africa Health Report, AHR, said the congress is outraged by President Bola Tinubu’s announcement for the removal of “fuel subsidy” without proper consultations with critical stakeholders or the implementation of palliative measures to lessen the unpleasant consequences of the “subsidy removal.”.
Mr. Ajaero who described the decision as insensitive said within hours of the pronouncement, the nation went into a tailspin due to a combination of service shutdowns and product price hikes, in some places representing over 300 per cent price adjustment, hence, bringing tears and sorrow to millions of Nigerians instead of hope and equally devalued the quality of their lives by over 300 per cent and counting.
He said: “Government claims the subsidy removal will create jobs. This is misleading. The stronger truth is that it will destroy more jobs than it creates. For every job it creates in the capital-intensive petroleum sector, it will terminate several jobs in the rest of the labor-intensive economy. Subsidy removal will increase costs across the board. However, salaries will not increase. This means demand for goods will lessen as will sales volumes and overall economic activity. The removal will have a recessionary impact on the economy as a whole. While some will benefit from the removal, most will experience setbacks.
“What is doubtless is that the Jonathan tax will increase the price of petrol, transportation, and most consumer items. With fuel prices increasing twofold or more, transportation costs will roughly double. Prices of food staples will increase between 25-50 per cent. Yet this is more than about cost figures. Most people’s incomes are low and stagnant. They have no way to augment revenue and little room to lower expenses for they know no luxuries; they are already tapped out. The only alternative they have is to fend as best they can, knowing they must somehow again subtract something from their already bare existence.
“There will be less food, less medicine, and less school across the land. More children will cry in hunger and more parents will cry at their children’s despair. This is what the government has done. Poor and middle-class consumers will spend the same amount to buy much less. The volume of economic activity will drop like a stone tossed from a high building. This means real levels of demand will sink. The middle class to which our small businessmen belong will find their profit margins squeezed because they will face higher costs and reduced sales volumes.”.
