The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has criticized the fuel subsidy removal palliatives announced by the government, saying that they are inadequate and many Nigerians may not even get one cup of rice.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that according to the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, the N5 billion given to each state to purchase food items is not enough to go around, and that even if it were, the way the palliatives are being shared is unfair.
He said that the government should instead focus on putting the money into improving the public transport system, which would help to reduce the cost of transportation for Nigerians.
The NLC has also threatened to go on strike if the government does not address their concerns about the palliatives.
In a statement, the NLC said that the strike would be a warning strike, but that they would be willing to take more drastic action if the government does not listen to their demands.
While featuring on Channels TV programme, on Friday night, Ajaero said: “If you share that N5bn or even the five trucks of rice or grain, many people may not get one or half cup of rice.
“If you share the N5bn, many people, probably within the working class or the poor of the poor, may not get N1,500. Now, is that the palliative?”
He added, “When you do it, you reduce us to mere tokenism – maybe give us N10,000 for three months and leave people to die. That is not the issue.
“We have to sit down and look at some measures that would cushion the effects or that would substitute the suffering of Nigerians. So, by the time you say you are giving state governors N5bn each, what does that translate to if they share it?”
He said the money would have been best put into the public transport system, for the people to better the odds of the people.
“For every day a worker moves from his house to the office and comes back with a reduced transportation rate, he may save N1,000 daily.
“If he tries that for 28 days or even 20 days, he may be saving about N20,000 on transportation alone. That’s a policy. That would help even the farmer who moves his goods and services from one point to the other.”
