From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
A group, Coalition of Civil Society Organisations and Political Parties for Good Governance (COSOSAP), has warned the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to desist from embarking on any form of strike action capable of heating up the polity and leading to the breakdown of law and order over fuel subsidy removal.
COSOSAP National Coordinator, Lillian Ene Ogbole, who spoke at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, emphatically warned that NLC cannot engage in any form of protest or nationwide strike because it will escalate more crisis and problem more than what is presently obtainable.
The coalition however appealed to Labour leaders to approach the fuel subsidy controversy with objectivity and patriotism knowing that the economic nosedive is not peculiar to Nigeria.
“It is worthy of note therefore to mention emphatically that NLC cannot roll in the path of any form of industrial action either by way of protest or nationwide strike as this will further escalate more crisis and problem than what is presently obtainable.
“It is no news that the world at large is going through severe post-COVID hardship; this has damaged several economies around the globe today. This information is available for free on various global communication platforms.
“It will begin to send malicious signals both locally and internationally if what is rated as the global crisis is being contained and handled by the umpire Labour body in a way and manner that throw the country into an uncontrollable uproar. The menace of difficult times and hardship can only be overcome through reasoning together and working in synergy to achieve prosperity and progress.
“Finally, we call on the organized Labour union to desist from any statement or action that may heat up the polity or lead to a breakdown of law and order. We call on them to approach the fuel subsidy issue with objectivity and patriotism knowing that the economic nosedive is not peculiar to Nigeria,” she warned.
Justifying the removal of fuel subsidy by the President Bola Tinubu-led administration, Ogbole said: “No matter the perspective the situation is perceived from, we must be guided by the overriding national interest- which is the continuous survival of our citizens under one indivisible entity, Nigeria.
“Political leaders and economic pundits have argued and agreed that the oil subsidy regime has constituted a source of monumental corruption and a clog in the wheels of the nation’s progress in the last forty-five years.
“It is true that Nigerians desire and deserve to buy petrol at a cheaper rate, but again it is equally true that neither our economy nor any other economy in the world can bear the brunt of the mega corruption associated with the fuel subsidy regime as was obtainable in Nigeria.
“It suffices therefore to say that, the only way our dear nation Nigeria would not go the way of failed states like Venezuela and Sri Lanka etc., is to obliterate the fuel subsidy regime. This accounted for why the last administration ended the fuel subsidy regime in the twilight of its tenure as evident in their refusal to make appropriation for fuel subsidy for the month of June 2023 and even subsequent months.
“The decision of the last administration over the fuel subsidy regime was reiterated and re-emphasized by President Tinubu during his inaugural speech on May 29 2023.
“This singular declaration has changed the narrative of the downstream sector and like every similar reform everywhere in the world; it has resulted in inevitable temporary hardship on the good people of our dear country Nigeria,” she said.