¬¬¬¬LABOUR CONSULTS ON REMOVAL OF FUEL SUBSIDY

Benedicta Bassey

 The Nigerian Labour congress on Monday began consultations on its planned action over the Federal Government’s decision to remove fuel subsidy.

The deputy national president of NLC represented by the acting chairman, comrade Joseph Ajero said this at a meeting with Project Nigeria Consensus Group in Lagos, led by prof. Ben Nwabueze to discuss the dangers of the removal of petroleum product subsidy in the country.

Comrade Joseph Ajero, said the issue of fuel subsidy removal has become a major problem and food for thought which propelled them to partner with the PNCG to tackle the government.

He said, “The effort of removal of fuel subsidy is what we are determined to stop; the whole story has been food for thought. The first instance, the federal government has said they have deposited 240billion for subsidy but as at September, the government has spent about 900billion or more getting to trillion and this expenditure were carried out in terms of progression and we are asking the National Assembly to explain to Nigerians how the expenditures were cured.”

Comrade Ajero  therefore call on the support of all Nigerians, patriots, eminent leaders of thought and all stakeholders to fight and save Nigeria from the eminent crisis.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the meeting, prof. Ben Nwabueze who spoke on constitution reforms said the group was concern about the affair of the country and a reform of the constitution, blaming the 1999 constitution.

He said, “We are all concern about what is happening, the problem has to do with our constitution, since 1999 we claim to have transited to democracy but there cannot be a democracy without a democratised constitution.

 “The national assembly should try and structure a democratized constitution that can resolve the people and all the ethnic nationalities in the country. This country never had the people constitution.”

Nwabueze urged the Federal Government and the National Assembly to propose a bill for a new constitution which he termed as the People’s Constitution.

However, speaking on fuel subsidy, he advised the federal government to halt the removal of fuel subsidy in the country.

Earlier, the spokesman of Pro-national Consensus Group, comrade Olawale Okunniyi said the purpose of the meeting was to encourage the government to do what is right in making the people of Nigeria to own their constitution for the first time for a true democracy and address the issue of fuel subsidy.

 Okunniyi said the group had set up technical and consultative team to harmonise the Patriot and Project Nigeria bill for the National Constituent Assembly which will be sent to the president, government forum and national assembly.

He added that the group has agreed to collaborate with the NLC to engage the government to over the removal of fuel subsidy in the state.