Offer legit palliatives – TUC urges FG

Workers in Nigeria are experiencing “the worst moment in their lives,” according to the Trade Union Congress (TUC), and as a result, many of them are going to work hungry.

In an interview with the media on Friday, Sule Ahmed Tijani, chairman of TUC in Kogi State, made the request.

Tijani, bemoaning the plight of employees after the elimination of the gasoline subsidy, stated that Nigerians can no longer withstand the increase in prices of transport and commodities in the country, and that workers are losing their lives and loved ones as a result.

He criticised the administration for not doing enough to ease the suffering of the Nigerian people.

Workers have been severely impacted,” he said. The cost of living, including food and transportation, has increased recently. Those employed in Kogi State are currently at the whims of the Almighty. The situation is out of control.

The administration appears to be ignoring the plight of the people. Workers can’t afford to show up to work. It costs around N1,500 per month for a worker living in Felele who commutes to work at the State Secretariat in Lokoja, and that doesn’t even cover housing or food.

Unfortunately, the loss of fuel subsidy and the recent hike in petrol prices have further worsened the hardship of workers across Nigeria,” he concluded. The government’s decision to raise fuel prices just two months after taking office was a poor one. The current administration has not provided an explanation for the increased fuel price increase.

He stated, “The previous administration put many workers into suffering, and now this one is adding his own when we thought things would get better.” He was referring to the country’s minimum wage, which is no longer sufficient to support workers. This can’t go on much longer. It is incumbent upon us as labour leaders to appease our constituents lest they engage in illegal activity.

Tijani also criticised the government’s proposed N8,000 palliative, calling on the current administration to examine it holistically to find solutions rather to make matters worse for Nigerians.

Allow the N8,000 to be used to reopen our refineries. They need to quit making us look stupid. Everyone knows that the wealthy will end up with the N8,000 monthly palliative if it is enacted. The intended recipients, low-income households, will receive nothing. He predicted that state governments and their supporters will “hijack it” in the same way they have in the past.

The TUC chief stated that members of organised labour are waiting for the government to come up with a genuine plan to alleviate the suffering of workers, while also emphasising that labour is not considering the option of downing tools to force home its demands.

Tijani also pleaded with Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello to investigate the issue of workers as quickly as other governments have been doing in order to alleviate their suffering.