Subsidy removal: Aremu urges FG to widen scope in discussions with labour

Mr. Issa Aremu, Director-General, Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies, Ilorin, has urged the Federal Government to expand the scope of its negotiations on the aftermath of fuel subsidy removal.

Aremu urged the government to include employers of labour in the ongoing discussions with organised labour on the needed actions following the subsidy removal.

He gave the advice in an interview on Tuesday in Lagos, on the sidelines of an event organised as part of activities for the Mandela Day celebration.

Aremu said that the measure would ensure transparency in managing inevitable policy reforms without imposing shock therapy on Nigerians and worsening poverty.

According to him, all other issues must be brought to the table.

“However, as we agree on that, the government must engage people and also mitigate the impact of the crisis facing the country because any transition policy initiative has its benefits and costs.

“It is now time for us to rethink how to manage the transition before it gets out of hand, and the only way to do so is through negotiation and discussion.

“One of the strong virtues of Nelson Mandela was that he was open to negotiation.

“He negotiated with his enemies and had reconciliation with them.

“We cannot engage in policy fights because we are not enemies; we are all citizens.

“It calls for urgent discussion by all the stakeholders that, while we know the market is important,we cannot allow market forces in which the cost of doing business is getting more expensive,” he said.

Aremu said it was undermining the ease of doing business and the cost of living and could affect the drive for productivity and the bid to reposition Nigeria for renewed hope and prosperity.

The price of gasoline went up on Tuesday, sparking an outcry by many motorists who were still battling with the earlier increase that followed the new administration’s pronouncement on the end of the gasoline subsidy.

President Bola Tinubu's pronouncement on the policy on May 29 was followed by an increase in the pump price of petrol from N198 per litre to N500 per litre, and above this in some parts of the country.

Following the policy, organised labour and the federal government went into negotiations on ways to cushion the effect of the new policy on workers.

Tuesday’s increase came while the discussions were still on, but the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. has attributed it to market forces.

The increase on Tuesday saw the price jump from N500 to as much as N617 in some parts of the country, with the resultant effect of transportation costs.

The organised labour movement has expressed its displeasure with the new increase.