The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has rejected the denial, yesterday (Wednesday, September 4), by Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Print Media, that the President Tinubu promised not to further hike PMS price as a condition for Labour settling for N70,000 as the new national minimum wage as against the N250,000 they had earlier insisted on..
The Presidency’s denial came in response to the NLC President, Joe Ajaero’s statement that Tinubu had assured the union there would be no further hike in PMS pump price.
In his statement, Abdulaziz claimed that at no point during the meetings between President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the labour leaders was an offer made in exchange for a fuel price hike.
He accused Ajaero of “playing dirty politics with the emotions of Nigerians.”
But in their response, labour leaders dismissed Abdulaziz’s denial as “amusing”, wondering whether he suffers from “selective amnesia or attention span deficit.”
The union leaders maintained that their account of the events was accurate, insisting that an offer was indeed made by the President, giving the labour leaders an hour to decide between accepting a fuel price hike or agreeing to a ₦62,000 minimum wage.
They noted that the labour leaders chose to discuss the matter outside the Presidential Villa and, upon returning, rejected the offer outrightly.
The labour leaders also took issue with Abdulaziz’s remarks about Comrade Ajaero, stating that Nigerians do not need Ajaero to understand the impact of government policies on their lives.
They emphasized that Nigerians are entitled to a life of dignity, free from harassment and intimidation, warning that true power ultimately resides with the people, not the government.
The NLC reminded Abdulaziz and his supporters that “falsehood does not live forever,” insisting the inviolability of organized labour’s stand on the ongoing fuel supply crisis in the country.
(Text with minor editing and excluding headline, New Telegraph)
