Tinubu’s commitment tested by subsidy removal – APC chieftain
The ruling All Progressives Congress has described the subsidy removal on Premium Motor Spirit, otherwise known as petrol, as the first acid test of President Bola Tinubu.
This was revealed by the National Vice Chairman of APC for North-West, Salihu Lukman, in a statement issued in Abuja titled ‘Nigerian Democracy and the Challenge of Governance.’
Lukman stated that the reaction of Nigerians and the threat by the Nigeria Labour Congress to go on strike have challenged the commitment of the President and the APC in terms of introducing new initiatives to ‘to radically reform, modernise and move our nation forward’.
The APC chieftain reaction is coming barely 24 hours after the Nigeria Labour Congress shelved its planned nationwide strike for Wednesday.
Lukman said, “More than anything, the issue of fuel subsidy tests the commitment of President Tinubu and the APC in terms of whether new initiatives will be introduced to courageously unite Nigerians ‘to radically reform, modernise and move our nation forward’. It is about whether we want to continue to spend about 30 per cent of our total revenue as a subsidy for the importation of fuel.
“The reality, therefore, is that the challenge of managing the astronomical cost of fuel subsidy payment is the first test of whether President Tinubu’s government will operate based on the commitment to deliver on his campaign promises to Nigerians of initiating reform of the economy so that revenues accruing to the government can ‘support the fiscal obligations demanded by modern democratic governance.’
“Certainly, this will require bold and courageous decisions. But perhaps, more than that, it will require being able to mobilise Nigerians to support the initiative of the government. Mobilising Nigerians to support the initiatives of the government is a function of engagements and negotiations with the aim of winning agreements that will strategically commit citizens to both support the initiatives of the government as well as discharge complementary responsibilities.
“Everything considered therefore, it will be easier for organised labour to develop a functional relationship with APC and its governments at all levels and seek to defend and promote the interests of Nigerian workers than for NLC and its partners to reclaim the Labour Party and use it to sponsor candidates and win elections.
“Once negotiation is limited to getting organised labour to accept the new policy of withdrawal of fuel subsidy without contracting partnership agreement with organised labour aimed at securing functional relationship to negotiate the roll out of difficult policies, which would be considered necessary to move Nigeria forward, the old distractions of managing strike actions by organised labour would continue.”
