By KEMI KASUMU
The Presidential Campaign Council of the Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has challenged the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to come clean on its stand tilting towards supporting Dr. Peter Obi, Labour Party Presidential Candidate, despite his vow to ‘totally’ remove fuel subsidy, if elected president in the 2023 election.
The DEFENDER recalls that the NLC’s major grouses with government of President Muhammadu Buhari or any preceding President has been that fuel subsidy must never be removed and on the basis of this, it has fought successive administrations before now.
The Buhari-led APC government has said to the face of International Monetary Fund (IMF) that it would never remove fuel subsidy so as not to inflict unnecessary hardship on its people, until it would have put all necessary requirements in place, which, apparently, are already being done with the rejuvenated public and state-backed private refineries now set to kick-off in December this year.
The APCPCC, apparently peeved that the NLC could publicly commit itself to mobilising support for a presidential candidate that has indiscriminately vowed to totally remove that same treasured fuel subsidy if elected President, has listed questions and placed them before the labour union to answer.
It will be recalled that the APC – seeking the election of its candidate Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2023 election – has had to show Muhammadu Buhari as the only Nigerian President in history that, during a military regime in his capacity as Minister of Petroleum Resources, built the country’s only known refineries ever and, has come back in his capacity as civilian President to revamp and make function again while adding others at private-participated level, 30 years after successive administrations including the one Peter Obi ran as Vice Presidential Candidate in 2019 made them inactive.
Mr. Festus Keyamo (SAN), the Director, Media and Public Affairs and Official Spokesperson, of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, put the NLC to task to purge itself of ambiguities over those actions traced to it.
“We note that the leadership of the organized labour under the aegis of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Monday, September 13, 2022, at a national retreat of the Labour Party in Abuja, promised to mobilise its members across the 774 local government areas in Nigeria to ensure victory for Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, in next year’s presidential election.
“We also note that in several interviews he granted in the last few months and weeks, Mr. Peter Obi has vowed to totally remove subsidy on petrol if elected President. We also note NLC’s long-standing opposition to total removal of fuel subsidy. Other left-leaning supporters of the Labour Party were also present at the event to cheer Mr. Peter Obi.”
Keyamo, who is the Honourable Minister of State for Labour and Employment, said, “Consequently, the following questions are urgently begging for answers by the leadership of the NLC:
“1. Before adopting Mr. Peter Obi as its candidate, did the leadership of the NLC have a discussion with him on the issue of removal of fuel subsidy?
“2. If they did have that discussion, did Mr. Peter Obi agree to back down on the issue of subsidy removal? Was that a basis for supporting him? If he did not back down on the issue, did organised Labour agree with him?
“3. If no such discussion held, does it mean the leadership of the NLC now fully supports the removal of fuel subsidy? Or will that not be reckless of the NLC to adopt a candidate without thoroughly interrogating the candidate on his policies as they affect the Nigerian workers or the masses? The NLC must make a public statement and come clean on this.
“4. If the excuse is that Mr. Peter Obi has said that the money saved will be used in other critical areas of the economy, how is that different from what the Buhari’s Government is also saying?” He asked.
Continuing he said, “These questions have become necessary because Nigerians deserve to know whether organised Labour’s adopted party, which is the Labour Party, supports and promotes a policy that the leadership of Labour opposes in another breath when it is adopted by the government of the day. They cannot be blowing hot and cold.
“As our Council stands for issue-based campaigns, we call on all members of the 4th Estate of the Realm not to sweep this point under the carpet and to thoroughly interrogate the NLC and the Labour Party on the one hand; and the seemingly right-leaning supporters of the Labour Party and Mr. Peter Obi on the other, on this issue so that they will come clean before Nigerians,” he concluded.
