The Nigeria Labour Congress on Thursday tackled President Bola Tinubu over the economic hardship in the country, which it said was worsening.

The President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero, who faulted Tinubu’s economic reforms at the 21st Daily Trust Dialogue in Abuja, warned the President against heeding the advice of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

But the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, who was at the event,  faulted  Ajaero’s criticism.

He assured Nigerians that they would soon start enjoying the benefits of the reforms of the President.

Also, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, in an interview with The PUNCH,  said the President’s economic reforms were pro-Nigeria and aimed to stabilise the economy and restore the ailing naira to its true value.

Following Tinubu’s removal of the fuel subsidy on his assumption of office on May 29, 2023, prices of goods and services went up.

He justified the decision by saying the government could not continue to subsidise fuel with billions of naira which he promised to invest in infrastructure and other social development programmes.

In protest, the NLC and Trade Union Congress held a street rally over the increasing cost of living due to government policies, especially the removal of the subsidy on petrol.

To address the forex crisis and boost liquidity, the government through the Central Bank of Nigeria, abolished the multiple exchange rates which collapsed into the Investors and Exporters.

However, the policy change has failed to yield the expected results as the forex crisis, which started under the Muhammadu Buhari administration, worsened with the national currency now exchanging for over N1,400 per dollar.

But on Thursday, the NLC president took a swipe at the policies of the Federal Government, noting that Nigerians were the losers in the economic programmes initiated by the President.

Speaking on the theme, ‘Tinubu’s Economic Reforms: Gainers and Losers,’ Ajaero cautioned the President against implementing IMF policies, noting that listening to the Bretton Woods institutions had never helped Nigeria.

IMF-driven

Addressing the audience which included a former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof Attahiru Jega, Deputy Governor of Katsina State, Faruq Jobe, ex-Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, Senator Shehu Sani, and others, he argued that many of Tinubu’s reforms were the policies of the World Bank and the IMF.

He cited the hike in fuel pump prices which he said was a World Bank’s idea.

“Reforms are meant to be accepted by the people and such reforms are supposed to yield results for the people. When it is the other way around, it becomes information. Many of the Tinubu’s reforms are just policies of the World Bank and the  IMF,” he said.

The NLC chairman, who was a panellist at the event, said it was not too early to measure the indices of failure and winning.

He stated that the masses were the losers because the price of fuel had become almost unaffordable to Nigerians.

He stated that fuel which hitherto sold at N187 per litre now dispenses for N700 per litre while the salaries remained the same.

“Some of the policies we are talking about today seemed to be emergency policies. I am going to talk about how the policies affect the common man on the street. I am here as a representative of the losers,” stated.

Ajaero lamented the closure of businesses in the country as he lamented that Nigeria is the poverty capital of the world.

Touching on Tinubu’s key economic policies of subsidy removal and naira devaluation, Ajaero stated that it took eight years for the naira to fall from N260 per dollar to N700 per dollar under former President Muhammadu Buhari, but under Tinubu, the national currency fell from N700 per dollar to N1,350 per dollar within six months.

He lamented the increasing debt profile of the country. “Who do you think will pay it?’’ he asked.

“I know they tell you that you have to suffer a bit so you can gain, but it has been the same story since forever,” he said, as he called for a review of all government policies to know what works and what does not, noting that the country’s situation is getting worse.

“I think the Tinubu’s administration should look at all these things holistically so we have a good master plan to drive Nigeria, we need policies to keep people in their jobs and not the other way around. The situation will continue to worsen until there is a policy reversal,” he concluded.

He submitted that the steps taken so far to cushion the effect of the fuel subsidy removal have not been felt by the people.

Instead of helping Nigerians, the labour leader insisted that Tinubu’s policies have deformed the workers.

He noted, “Unfortunately, we do not see courage in actions that pillage the people, rather, we see cowardice in bowing to the pressures of foreign interests (IMF and World Bank) against that of your own people. That is not what reforms look like but it is exactly what the path to deforming a people and a nation looks like.’’

Reprimanding the President who has been accused of running a large and ostentatious government, the NLC leader asked him to reduce the cost of governance, noting that any reform that did not address this cardinal issue is deceptive.

Any reform that does not deliberately reduce the cost of governance in Nigeria by at least 50 per cent is deceptive,’’ he pointed out.

Speaking further, he stated, “You therefore ask yourself, how did we come to this sorry pass? Why have they refused to allow the refineries to work? Who are those sabotaging the refineries and thus our economy? Why is it difficult for the government to repair or refurbish its own refineries?’

“One of the controversial measures undertaken by the Tinubu administration was the hike in the price of petrol in the guise of the elimination of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit.

“The purported aim was to reduce government spending and redirect resources to other critical sectors. What are the immediate and long-term effects of these measures on the economy, inflation rates, and the cost of living.’’

“The truth is that when you find out those who are benefitting from the shutdown of our refineries, they are the ones benefiting from the grievous distortions in the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria,” he added.

He listed inflationary pressures, transportation costs, and cost of living as some of the effects being felt by Nigerians, referencing the rise in the prices of essential goods and services precipitated by increased transportation costs.

Businesses shut

“Many businesses have been shut down and many more are planning to leave as a result of the increasing hostile operating environment for businesses in Nigeria.

“The palliative economy or the feeding bottle economy which runs on the creation of hardship then giving of a little token to cushion its effect has created a league of treasury looters and they are smiling to the bank.

“The various scandals as witnessed during the last government where billions of dollars were frittered away in the name of humanitarian affairs have worsened; the huge sums in private accounts and the flights from Abuja to Lokoja are still with us,’’ Ajaero stated.

Coming short of writing off the reforms of the present administration, the NLC boss noted that as long as the majority of Nigerians are living in poverty, there is nothing to cheer about.

Ajaero also chided the Federal Government’s move to sell off public assets, saying, “They are talking about privatisation; 99 per cent of privatised companies have disappeared. And we are sustaining it. You sold your house for N2m and you gave the buyers N10m to repair it. That is a prodigal economy.’’

Citing the situation in the power sector, he added, ‘’All the Discos have been taken over by banks. The banks are running the power sector and you want it to work? I think the Tinubu government should look at all this holistically.’’

Responding to Ajaero’s criticisms, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Idris, assured Nigerians that the vision of President Tinubu was to provide succour to Nigerians, revamp the economy, and return the country to prosperity.

He asked for more time for policies to bear fruits.

He said the N35,000 wage award being implemented by the Federal Government would be paid to workers.

 Idris stated, “The N35,000 wage award, I know that there were some technical disruptions in the way it was implemented but I can tell you that the President is committed to ensuring that every kobo meant for the wage award is paid to entitled federal workers. The Federal Government has insisted that it has made a commitment.

“There was also the issue of the palliatives that we talked about. Now because fuel subsidy almost went away abruptly, there was the need to cushion that effect in the short term. The government is not saying every economic policy will be an emergency one or the one driven by palliative.

“What it sought to address was important that people have an immediate cushion to what was happening before a long-term solution was proffered. So it’s not all gloomy, it is not all emergency.

“Of course, if you have an immediate shock, it is important that you have first aid before a long-term solution is being proffered and that is being done jointly with labour itself.’’

A former Minister of Finance and National Planning, Shamsudden Usman, who chaired the event, said the average Nigerian seemed to be the loser in the fuel subsidy removal policy.

“Where are the palliatives? This is a valid question to ask. How well are they being implemented? Buses were promised, but where are they?

“It is not too early, but one thing the President is showing is that this is a sensitive government and he is listening. When people complain about certain things, the government listens and takes action,’’ he counselled.

He described the constant collapse of the power grid as a disgrace, noting that it was unheard of.

The President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Onanuga, said the President’s economic reforms of the past eight months are pro-Nigeria and aimed to stabilize the economy and restore the ailing naira to its true value.

He said Nigerians would soon see the wisdom in Tinubu’s policies.

Onanuga said, “If anybody says they do not see any discernable economic blueprint that is pro-Nigeria, then the person is living somewhere else.

Presidency explains reforms

“Since the President began his reforms, yes, there have been problems and this government has been up and doing trying to improve things, to ameliorate whatever problems emerge and it is still doing all that.

“The government believes that the policies it introduced are in the best interest of our country. The government is aware that yes, there will be temporary pains, but those pains will not last for long. Soon, people will see the wisdom in what has been done.”

The Presidency justified the fuel subsidy removal, saying it did not benefit Nigerians.

“Is it about subsidy removal? Everybody knows that before Tinubu came to office, some Nigerians were making billions and billions from smuggling what we call subsidised petrol, and at the end of the day, the government was made to pay for the subsidy which Nigerians were not really enjoying.

“President Buhari had already planned it by law to remove that subsidy by the end of June 2023 anyway.

“What Tinubu did was just to accelerate the time. Instead of waiting for one whole month of another dreaded waste of money, he said, there is no point in waiting. It is better to do it once and for all from day one,” the presidential aide explained.

Onanuga described the currency reforms, particularly the unification of the exchange rate and shoring up the value of the naira as a “work in progress”

He noted, “Everybody knows that is still a work in progress. The figure we got is that when (ex-CBN Governor Godwin) Emefiele was there, Nigeria was spending about $1.5bn every month shoring up the value of the naira viz-a-viz other world currencies.

“The government decided to say there is no point in subsidising again so that Nigerians can get cheaper dollars. You know, the process was being abused through round-tripping and all that. So, what we are doing now is work in progress.”

He cited earlier remarks by the CBN Governor, Yemi Cardoso, who spoke, at a forum by the Nigeria Economic Summit Group, about efforts to stabilise the local currency.

“Only yesterday, the CBN Governor talked about the plans of the CBN in conjunction with the Ministry of Finance and NNPCL to ensure that the naira gets its real value.

“What we have now is artificial from the black market rating. It is just the work of speculators. Nigerians are even speculating on their own currency, not having faith in our naira.

 “The CBN has said it is going to put in place a multi-pronged approach to ensure that the naira gets its real value. In the opinion of the CBN, the naira is undervalued,” he told our correspondent.

Speaking in a phone interview with The PUNCH, the Peoples Democratic Party deputy spokesperson, Ibrahim Abdullahi, lamented that the APC government had failed to cut down the cost of governance despite the economic hardships they have subjected Nigerians to.

He stated, “The APC Tinubu-led administration does not have any economic policy that can turn things around for Nigerians. Indeed they don’t have one, if they did, we would have seen different policy directions, they would have been turning them out.

“We haven’t seen much of what this government is going to do. Since the withdrawal of subsidy, Nigerians have been thrown into hardship and penury, but if there is concomitant policy direction to assuage the suffering of Nigeria, it would have made sense and by now we would have seen it.’’

“Increasingly, every morning, Nigerians are getting deeper into poverty, insecurity and penury. So the economy is going through the hardest of all times.

“Isn’t that clear that all the foreign organizations that are teleguiding them have failed? So, the indication is that yes, there is no direction, IMF/World Bank and Western worlds are teleguiding the APC administration.’’

The Labour Party  Spokesman, Ifoh, stated that the corruption allegedly ongoing in the government would plunge the nation into more economic crises.

He stated, “They removed the subsidy, yet failed to cut down the cost of government. They are running a flamboyant government, while Nigerians are in hardship. From the appointments they made, you can see that cronyism was their major driving point. And some of them are already practising corruption to fill their pockets.’’

[Punch]