The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) should not make itself available for oil cabals to be used against the new government, a group the Civil Society Coalition for Energy Transparency has cautioned
This was coming against the backdrop that the NLC’s rejected the new fuel regime, which it said is unusual as removal of subsidy or fixing of price is not what government could do unilaterally.
But the CSO urged the NLC to tow the path of dialogue, which it said remains the potent form of settling differences.
Addressing newsmen on in Abuja, the convener of the group, Dr Mahmood Al-Mustapha, said the subsidy regime has been without transparency, credibility and accountability in the process leading to payments of claims to the so-called beneficiaries of the arrangement.
“As at 2022, the Federal Government of Nigeria pays out N1.243 trillion as fuel subsidy monthly. In a normal society, this should be unacceptable to the government and the citizens,” he said.
Asking for the understanding of the NLC and other organised bodies, the CSO expressed optimism that they would be a paradigm shift from the past under President Tinubu in terms of economic outflows of the country.
Al-Mustapha said, “We see the removal of fuel subsidy in the best interest of Nigerians and we plead with the NLC and other organised bodies to show understanding and cooperate with the government at ensuring the success of the new fuel policy.”
To sustain the policy of subsidy removal, the group President Tinubu to rejig the nation’s borders and tame fuel smugglers to the neighbouring countries.
Al-Mustapha also urged the president to put measures in place to mitigate the consequences of the new fuel regime.
He expressed the support of the coalition for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu whose bold decision of doing away with the Fuel subsidy regime that has existed for decades without respite he said is timely