Nigerians are the losers for adapting to the rise in fuel price, President of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, has declared.
Ajaero, who was speaking at the 21st Daily Trust Dialogue themed “Tinubu’s Economic Reforms: Gainers and Losers,” added that Nigerians are suffering due to the increase in the price of fuel.
He said it is not too early to measure the indices of failure as well as that of winning, adding that “the masses are the losers because Nigerians who were once buying fuel at N187/liter, now have to do so at the rate of N700/liter”.
With the increase, he said there was no increase in salaries and wages, adding that the masses were suffering as a result.
While making a comparison, Ajaero said former President Muhammadu Buhari took eight years to move from N260/dollar to N700/dollar, adding that “within six months, it moved from N700/dollar to N1,350/dollar under Tinubu. So who are the losers?” he asked.
“These happenings”, Ajaero said, “are a situation of public disaster and private gain.”
He stated, “We are living in a prodigal economy and 99 percent, if not 100 percent of privatised companies in Nigeria have failed.”
Ajaero said Nigeria is on an increasing debt journey. “Who do you think will pay for it?” he asked.
“I know they tell you that you have to suffer a bit so you can gain, but it has been the same story since forever.”
According to the NLC President, companies are closing down and there is growing unemployment in the country, “so we need policies to keep people in their jobs and not the other way around.”
