The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has given the federal government from now to Wednesday next week to reverse fuel prices to their places before the fuel subsidy was removed or face indefinite strike action.

NLC President Joe Ajaero announced the ultimatum after an emergency meeting of the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) in Abuja.

The federal government’s decision to remove fuel subsidies was announced by President Bola Tinubu during his inauguration on Monday. In his inaugural address, the president declared that “fuel subsidy is gone”.

His statement, which triggered unprecedented fuel scarcity across the country, prompted the adjustment of pump prices by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
The new pump prices, which put the cost of fuel at N488 to N557 have stoked the cost of transportation nationwide – forcing commuters to take to trekking.

The NLC has accused the government of being insensitive to the plights of the Nigerian people by abruptly removing fuel subsidy without providing palliatives to cushion the effect.
Earlier, a group, Joint Action Front (JAF), had called on the NLC and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) to declare a nationwide strike in protest over the hikes in petrol prices occasioned by the subsidy removal.

“The Joint Action Front (JAF) condemns the pronouncement of Bola Tinubu during his inauguration as the President of Nigeria on May 29 that the ‘petrol subsidy is gone’.
“Since the pronouncement, the country has been further plunged into crisis as the petrol prices went as high as N600, long queues returned at fuel stations and ordinary people have to walk a long distance to work and other destinations,” the group said in a statement.

Earlier meetings held by the federal government and the NLC ended in deadlock.
The CEO of the NNPCL, Mele Kyari, said on Thursday that there is no going back on the fuel subsidy removal. He said, “By the provisions of the PIA [Petroleum Industry Act], actually the subsidy regime vanished on the 17th of February, 2022.” The law states that six months after the enactment of the PIA, petroleum products, particularly PMS must be priced at market rates, he added.
JAF, in its call on the NLC to resist the hike in pump prices, asked Nigerians to reject the subsidy removal.

“We call for a mass rejection of this anti-poor policy and other capitalist attacks including the devaluation of naira which Tinubu has planned to unleash on working people, youth, and the poor in line with the dictates of the World Bank and IMF.

“Already the hike in petrol prices has compounded the pre-existing economic hardship which itself was a result of the capitalist policies of the APC government. The already excruciatingly high cost of living and the high inflation which is at present over 22 percent will be worsened,” the group said.

Amid the chaos, Ajaero who had earlier called for a probe into the subsidy regime said the government, particularly the NNPCL, has up until Wednesday next week to revert to the old price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS). He added that if the federal government fails to meet the ultimatum, organized labour will have no choice but to embark on a nationwide strike.

But Kyari said that “These pains will be alleviated, and I am aware that Mr. President is working on this to see how the alleviation of these pains is going on.” He added that the subsidy removal is going to enable the resources to come back and be of use to the ordinary people.

President, Bola Tinubu has appointed Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, as the new Chief of Staff; former Deputy Governor of Jigawa State, Sen. Ibrahim Hadejia, as new Deputy Chief of Staff and Former Minister of Special Duties, George Akume, as new Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

The new appointments by the Commander in chief of the Nigerian Armed forces were revealed in a statement released on Friday by the State House Director of Information, Abiodun Oladunjoye.

The statement titled ‘President Tinubu appoints Gbajabiamila COS, Sen. Ibrahim Hadejia, DCOS, George Akume, SGF’ reads as follows:

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Friday in Abuja announced the appointment of Speaker of House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila as Chief of Staff, and Sen. Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, a former Deputy Governor of Jigawa State, as Deputy Chief of Staff.

“In a meeting with Progressives Governors Forum, the President also named former Governor of Benue State and immediate past Minister of Special Duties, George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation,” the statement reads.

Recall, in an earlier report, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila had debunked earlier rumors that he was being considered for the role of the chief of staff to the president-elect and that he was considering leaving the legislative chamber for the federal executive arm.

Only in America. Yes, “The US Senate has passed a bipartisan bill to raise the nation’s debt ceiling… averting a potential default on the nation’s obligations.” It is very magical how one country could do this and markets will cheer in ecstasy. If any other country tries it as America does in perpetuity, it will receive downgrades from rating agencies.

The Senate passed the debt ceiling bill late Thursday in a 63-36 vote, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden to sign, and avoiding a potentially calamitous default. The Fiscal Responsibility Act suspends the country’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling until 2025 and cuts federal spending. The Treasury Department had indicated that June 5 was the date the government would run out of cash. Biden said he would sign the bill into law as soon as possible, and he is expected to address the nation at 7 p.m. EDT on Friday.

The bill would: End Biden’s freeze on student-loan payments, Accelerate energy and infrastructure projects, and Expand the age/work requirements for those who receive food aid

In business, we call it positioning. It is that state where head, tail and in between, you win. Because of the US dollars, the United States has this positioning that it cannot be affected by debts in ways other countries could be.

In an Igbo novel (Uwadiegwu), the man dropped a great hint: when you borrow, go to your kinsman so that if the debt goes bad, he may lock you up but at the same time he would be expected to take care of your family since he is your kinsman! That is how debts work: pains are lesser when the debt is home. America borrows dollars and they’re responsible for printing dollars. No other country enjoys that combo.

Next year – America will raise the debt ceiling again. And the trajectory continues. You will be jealous of that economic positioning.

The US Senate has passed a bipartisan bill to raise the nation’s debt ceiling and avoid a default on its obligations. The bill, which was approved by the House of Representatives on Wednesday, will now go to President Joe Biden for his signature. The US Senate raised the debt ceiling by $2.5 trillion, averting a potential default on the nation’s obligations.

Debt ceiling is the legal limit on how much money the federal government can borrow to pay its bills. It covers spending that Congress has already authorized, such as Social Security benefits, military salaries, interest on the national debt and more. The debt ceiling does not authorize new spending; it only allows the government to pay for what it has already agreed to spend.

Comment on Feed

Comment 1: Thank you for this exposé, Prof. Ndubuisi Ekekwe. The America Empire has always positioned itself to win Head or Tail. Its strategic governance, reliability, openness to criticism, and continuous process of fine-tuning its politico-economic playbook have made it possible to be believed whenever it makes moves like this.

Will this continue forever? I don’t know. But no matter the issue, America will still hold the ace for at least the next 50 years.

Whatever it’s worth, the Debt Market is rejoicing at this news!

Comment 2: Prof, yes we can say it’s positioning because at the time the World needed someone to trust post-World War 2, at Bretten-Woods conference, America proved itself to be trustworthy and based on that trust, Dollars was pegged to Gold and other countries pegged theirs to dollar. However, ever since in 1970s, the gold peg to the dollar was removed by President Nixon, global trade consummated in dollars has continued to boost the dollar.

But it’s just mind blowing the privileges the US enjoy. I once argued with a friend that only in US did I see drama on debt ceiling and investors supposedly bought dollars as their safe haven( Yes you heard right! People struggling to buy the currency of a country that’s about to default in its obligations).

I must commend US either ways as they have shown trust and transparency in managing their exchange rate. Even the world may not trust the BRICS with its reserve as these economies are not free economies and dictatorship are very much common.
America has built strong institutions that rescue nations and companies in time of distress. This act remains lacking in Russia and China where all major help comes directly from government.

My Response: American has done well. Winning anything at a global level is never a birthright. But they need to watch BRICs