N8,000 palliative holds no water, Labour leaders comment on Tinubu’s plan

On Friday, union leader Mrs. Funmi Sessi compared the Federal Government’s plan to pay N8,000 to 12 million households for six months to a drop in the ocean.

As players in the sector reacted to the government’s plan, Sessi, Chairman of the Lagos Chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), made this statement in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

In an appeal to the National Assembly, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu expressed his desire to ensure the well-being of the country’s impoverished and vulnerable citizens through the Federal Government’s National Safety Net Programme.

Tinubu stated that 12 million low-income and disadvantaged households will each get a digital transfer of N8,000 every month for six months as part of the proposal.

Sessi commented on the situation, saying, “Looking at the money and the effect of the subsidy removal that has escalated the prices of everything in the market, I wonder what the N8,000 can do for a family in a month.”

For example, “I wonder what it can buy and the services it can render for 30 days; N8,000 cannot take care of a family for a week; it is not possible; it is going to be like a drop of water in the ocean.”

Trade Union Congress of Nigeria Deputy President Tommy Okon also weighed in on the topic, saying it was appropriate to wait for the presidential committee on the removal of oil subsidy to finish its report and reach a collective agreement with the organized labor before beginning any palliative care distribution.

Otherwise, it’ll be the same as what the Obama administration did, which had “no positive impact on the environment and economy,” Okon added.