Our Interest Is Not in Your Job; Please Execute Our Agreements, Reply from NLC to Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu has been informed by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) that union members have no interest in any political post, including his own.

During Thursday’s opening of the Lagos Red Line Project, the president poked fun at the labour unions, advising them to stay out of the way and keep the peace because they aren’t the only ones speaking for Nigerians.

Until 2027, he informed the workers unions, they could not be involved in the voting process.

Additionally, Tinubu slams labour unions, proving that you are not Nigerians’ sole voice.

Joe Ajaero, president of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), issued a statement on Friday in which he rejected Tinubu’s platform and instead demanded that the former carry out the many accords that unions had with the federal government in the wake of fuel subsidy cuts.

Ajaero stated that the National Labour Congress (NLC) disagreed with the president’s statements since they contradicted the realities that ordinary Nigerians are experiencing as a result of current policies, especially his statements about the importance of labour in government.

“The President appears ignorant to the grave hardships suffered by millions of Nigerians,” the statement said in part. Urgent and rapid action is required in response to the widespread issues of hunger, unemployment, housing instability, and the increasing expenses of food, healthcare, and other essential commodities.

“However, President Tinubu seems more concerned with his own political calculations and chance of reelection than with resolving these critical issues.”

Our major goal is not to run for office, even the presidency, and that is something the NLC wants to stress. Rather, we will not rest until we have succeeded in bringing about successful government in Nigeria that puts the safety and well-being of every citizen first. We strongly suggest that President Tinubu put aside his political bluster and focus on carrying out this essential responsibility of his office.

We must immediately return our attention to the important matters that have been discussed between the government and Labour since June 2023. Some examples of these essential issues include raising wages, establishing social assistance programmes, improving infrastructure, and reinvigorating important industries like healthcare and education.

Whatever the case may be, we have been interacting with the government since June 2023, after the subsidies had ended, so we can avoid wasting energy by concentrating on the actual problems. Concerns centre on the government’s failure to carry out the terms of the agreements we made with them.

Take, for instance, the agreement that we and the government struck on June 5, 2023, following the PMS price hike: examine the salary rise and award proposal, including the time and execution framework.

“Examine the cash transfer programme and suggest expanding it to include low-income earners;” Analyse problems preventing efficient delivery in the field of education and suggest ways to fix them; Return the CNG conversion initiative to life. Take a look at the plan for fixing up the country’s facilities; Framework for reviewing national road maintenance and rail network expansion plans

It wasn’t until we were compelled to organise a statewide march and the president personally pledged to implement them that we learned that these agreements had been reached, but the committee tasked with their implementation had never been inaugurated. But your pledges, Mr. President, have yielded no results.

A new round of protests was necessary to bring about the accord of October 2, 2023. Here we lay out the agreement so that your administration can inform the Nigerian people which one it has successfully implemented. First on the agenda is the N35,000 wage award; secondly, the agreement calls for the Port Harcourt refinery to begin operations by December 2023; thirdly, it promises to distribute 25,000 cash transfers to 15 million low-income households; and finally, it promises to waive taxes for employees, small companies, and the public at large.

“The government will cease interfering with the internal affairs of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and RTEAN. The agreement will be filed with the court as a settlement. CNG buses and 55,000 conversion kits will be provided. Moving forward, all parties will commit to using social dialogue in all our engagements.

It is imperative that the National Minimum Wage Committee be established without delay. The payment of outstanding wages and salaries to faculty and staff at all colleges and universities owned by the federal government; The federal government should mandate salary awards for employees in both the public and private sectors; National fertiliser programme for farmers; Financial support for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) nationwide Paying a visit to the refinery in order to observe its last stages of operation.

This is not about the election or who wants to be president; these are the real problems, Mr. President. Please, Mr. President, show us the parts of this agreement that your administration has already implemented. Maybe the government is trying to send a message to the Nigerian people that we don’t have the authority to demand that it honour the agreement it freely made with us.

“But aside from all this, what, if anything, has his administration done to implement the two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) agreed with this government on June 5th and October 2nd, 2023, other than talk?” There are a total of seven items in the first MoU and fifteen in the second. Not only has Labour been let down, but so have starving Nigerians.

There has to be accountability from President Tinubu’s administration about the promises made in earlier agreements with the Labour Party. Unfortunately, despite the government’s repeated promises, it seems like little is being done to put these accords into action. Instead of bureaucratic red tape and empty promises, the people of Nigeria demand honesty and real change.

It is also unacceptable that President Tinubu has used divisive language and implied threats against Labour. Everyone has a responsibility to encourage productive discussion and teamwork in order to solve the many problems that our country is experiencing. No democratic society has room for violent or intimidating tactics, and efforts to silence criticism will do nothing but raise tensions and derail our shared goals of economic growth and social progress.

At last, the NLC stresses again how seriously it takes its role as protector of Nigerian workers’ and the public’s rights. We urge President Tinubu to listen to the concerns of average Nigerians, put government above party politics, and work towards creating a fairer and more inclusive nation.