Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Joe Ajaero has revealed the understanding between organized labour and President Bola Tinubu regarding the N70,000 minimum wage.
During an interview on Arise Television’s Morning Show, Ajaero explained that the labour union accepted the lower minimum wage to prevent the government from increasing fuel prices.
“We accepted N70,000 minimum wage for the government not to increase fuel price,” Ajaero said.
He recounted the meeting with President Tinubu, where the labour union declined the offer to increase petrol prices and instead accepted the N70,000 minimum wage.
Ajaero stated, “The basis of accepting N70,000 was for the president not to increase the pump price of petroleum products.” However, the recent fuel price hike has sparked outrage, with Ajaero calling for a reversal, citing a 70% increase in transportation costs.
“The way forward is to reverse it because workers are on edge now to see whether they can go to work or not,” Ajaero emphasized.
“We need to sit down; governance is for the people, governance is not all about increase in electricity tariff, increase in pump price of petroleum products, increase in taxes, etc.”
Ajaero also criticized the government’s handling of the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) initiative. He claimed that the Federal Government inflated conversion costs from N300,000 to N800,000.
Economist Kelvin Emmanuel echoed concerns about the lack of gas infrastructure, emphasizing that the presidential CNG initiative requires addressing institutional-level issues. “Regarding the presidential CNG initiative, there is a lack of infrastructure,” Emmanuel said.
The NLC president clarified that the union’s decision-making process involves convening meetings with various organs, and a strike decision will be made following these discussions.
Organizations, including NACCIMA, CSO, PDP, NECA, Baptist Conference, and ASSBIFI, have widely criticized the fuel price hike and are demanding an immediate reversal.
