Petrol Subsidy: NLC absent, FG’s meeting with TUC ends in deadlock

A federal government delegation is in a meeting with representatives of organised labour at the presidential villa in Abuja over the removal of subsidies on petrol.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) didn’t make the meeting.

The meeting comes five days after a first meeting with the new government on the same issue ended in a deadlock.

During his inauguration speech on May 29, President Bola Tinubu said “The petroleum subsidy is gone”.

The president’s pronouncement immediately led to the resurfacing of long queues at gas stations and a hike in the pump price of the product across the country.

NLC President Joe Ajaero and his Trade Union Congress (TUC) counterpart, Festus Osifo, told state house correspondents after the first meeting that the government must return to the old price of petrol or workers will embark on a nationwide strike billed to commence next Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), in a memo dated June 2 and signed by its general secretary, Dominic Igwebike, also announced that its members would join the strike.

Federal government representatives at the last meeting included Dele Alake, spokesperson for the government’s delegation; Group CEO of NNPCL Mele Kyari; Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele; and Adams Oshiomhole, former governor of Edo State.

Meanwhile, President Tinubu will also meet with APC senators-elect, House of Representatives members-elect, and APC national working committee (NWC) members today at 7:00 p.m. at the presidential villa.

Meeting Ongoing

The meeting between representatives of the TUC and the federal government is ongoing.

Initiated by the federal government, the meeting began around 5 p.m., with the consequences of the removal of gasoline subsidies on the agenda.

The federal government’s team is being led at the talks by Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) George Akume; governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele; group chief executive officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari; and former governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole.

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Also in the meeting are the executive secretary of the national sugar development council (NSDC), Zacch Adedeji; the executive vice president, downstream, of the NNPCL, Yemi Adetunji; the former Lagos state commissioner for information and strategy, Dele Alake; and James Faleke, among others.

On the TUC side are seven members led by the organisation’s president, Osifo.

The NLC is absent at the meeting.

NLC President Ajaero said in a statement on May 31 titled “That NNPCL pricing template is vexatious and an ambush: the dialogue is in danger”, that they will not continue with the dialogue unless the new price regime is withdrawn.

The NLC statement read as follows: “We are worried that the government, through the NNPCL, despite the ongoing meeting of stakeholders in the oil and gas sector to manage the unilateral but unfortunate announcement by the president to withdraw subsidies on petroleum products, went ahead this morning to announce a new regime of prices under a new pricing template.

“This is an ambush and runs against the spirit and principles of social dialogue, which remains the best platform available for the resolution of all the issues arising out of the petroleum downstream sector.

“The government cannot, in one breath, be talking about deregulation while at the same time fixing the prices of petroleum products. This negates the spirit of allowing the operation of the free market unless the government has, as usual, usurped, captured, or become market forces.

“It is therefore unacceptable, and we seriously condemn it. Good-faith negotiation is key to reaching an agreement. What the government has done is like holding a gun to the heads of the Nigerian people and putting undue pressure on the leaders, thus undermining the dialogue.

“We call on the federal government to immediately instruct the NNPCL to withdraw this vexatious pricing template to allow the free flow of discussions by the parties.”