Subsidy Removal: APC Chieftain Lists 5 Things Tinubu Can Do to Avert NLC/TUC's Nationwide Strike

• APC chieftains have urged the organised labour to be patient with the federal government headed by Bola Tinubu
• The politicians urged the NLC and the TUC to consider the efforts of the president in cushioning the harsh effect of subsidy removal
• The APC members in separate chats with Legit.ng also suggested 5 things Tinubu can do to fix the country as the unions have declared an indefinite strike on Tuesday, October 3rd

Oyo state, Ibadan - Wasiu Olawale Sadare, the Oyo state All Progressives Congress (APC) spokesman, has revealed five things President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should do to fix the economy from further collapse.

The APC chieftain disclosed that if the steps are taken it would assist the federal government better in meeting the demands of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and its counterpart, the Trade Union Congress(TUC) as well as avert the proposed planned strike.

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Recall that the unions are masterminding the strike, scheduled to be held on Tuesday, October 3rd, 2023, despite an appeal by the government.

The leadership of the unions has resolved to shut down the country if the Sunday, October 1st address of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu failed to the nation, does not address their demands.

“It’s going to be a total shutdown … until government meets the demand of Nigerian workers, and in fact Nigerian masses,” the union leaders said in a joint statement.

Meanwhile, the Unions have been pushing Tinubu to reverse his decision on May 29, to scrap the decades-old subsidy that had kept fuel prices low but was draining government finances.

Prices have risen sharply, including the cost of food, transport and power as most businesses and households rely on petrol generators for electricity, following Tinubu's announcement.

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Tinubu has however defended his two biggest reforms – removal of the subsidy and foreign exchange controls – saying although this would lead to hardships in the short term, they were necessary to attract investment and boost government finances.

Subsidy: 5 ways Tinubu can tackle Nigeria's hardship

Meanwhile, Mr Sadare, looking at the development from a different perspective, revealed Tinubu can fix the nation's issues in five simple ways and Nigerians will smile and the economy will be revived.

He highlighted them below:

1. The Tinubu administration should sanitize the energy sector and ensure we rely less on fuel importation.

2. Second, CBN should be made to address the issues affecting our national currency; such that the foreign exchange would be stable in favour of Nigeria and Nigerians.

3. Third, the issue of food security has to be looked into with a view to ensuring that Nigerians do not go to bed hungry anymore.

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4. Fourth, an average worker should be made to earn a living wage without any delay and this should cut across all strata of labour.

5. Lastly, the economy must be revived in no time to give room for local manufacturing of goods and also to accommodate the army of unemployed youths who are willing to work and earn a decent living.

Nationwdie strike: APC chieftain begs NLC, TUC

Similarly, the convener of APC South-East Coalition, Francis Okoye, wants organised labour to reason with the federal government and understand their plight.

He noted that Tinubu is working tirelessly to address the nation's demand occasioned by the fuel subsidy removal and embarking on strike at this critical time in the country would spell more woes on the economy.

"The President already has plans to increase the wages of our civil servants. A new national minimum wage package will be announced tomorrow by the President during his Independence Day speech.

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"The President has also release the sum of 5 Billion Naira to each state of the federation for them to use it to address critical areas of needs to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal across states and local government areas of the country.

"The President has also initiated a transport scheme to ease the stress of Nigerians which many states across the country will equally replicate."

Nationwide strike: FG invites NLC, TUC to emergency meeting

Meanwhile, the federal government has made moves to avert the proposed nationwide lockdown.

Tinubu's negotiation team, headed by the minister of labour and employment, Simon Lalong, in a desperate move to avert the planned nationwide strike summoned an emergency meeting with the NL and TUC leaders on Friday, September 29.

It was gathered that the government had earlier fixed the meeting for 12 noon, but it had to be shifted to the evening to enable unions to reach out to their leaders outside Abuja.

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Tinubu plans palliative for workers ahead of organised labour strike

In another report, President Tinubu has been scheduled to announce his administration's palliative for organised labour even as they plan to commence an indefinite strike on Tuesday, October 3.

The organised labour had accused the Tinubu-led government of its failure to provide palliative for workers to cushion the effect of the fuel subsidy removals on members.

Source: Legit.ng