President Tinubu is working as quickly as he can to avoid a strike – Olu Verheijen 

The Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Energy has said that the Commander in Chief is working quickly to roll out palliatives following the removal of fuel subsidies, which has negatively impacted millions of Nigerians.

He said this on Wednesday, July 26, after a steering committee meeting on palliatives.  

While addressing the press, Ms. Verheijen said the committee meeting comprised all stakeholders representing the interests of Nigerians, including the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). According to her, the government is working round the clock to address the issues around the palliative roll out scheme which is multidimensional.  

Working to avoid a strike 

She said: 

• “The steering committee involves labour and some parts of government, it’s a wide group of people, a wide group of stakeholders representing the interests of Nigerians and we have agreed to continue to make progress.
• “It was a very productive meeting, the focus was on how we fast-track a lot of the interventions that will bring relief, particularly around compressed natural gas (CNG), mass transportation, cleaner energy, transportation, and reducing the impact of the cost of transportation. 
• “We have made good progress and we are going to start rolling out these opportunities and these relief measures as quickly as possible.
• “We are trying to address the issues that will prevent a strike. So that is essentially why I feel we made very good progress today and will continue to do so. 
• “President Bola Tinubu is working assiduously to address all these issues as quickly as he can. He is very empathetic; he is concerned about it. As you have seen all of us working round the clock here to make sure we are able to announce these measures as quickly as possible.  
• “It’s a whole package of issues that we are rolling out as quickly as possible.” 

Backstory 

On Wednesday, July 26, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) released a statement, faulting the Tinubu administration over its “unfriendly” policies. The NLC noted that the Federal Government has shown enormous disdain and contempt for the Nigerian people and has declared a war of attrition on Nigerian workers and masses. 

So, the NLC said it would embark on a strike action starting from August 2. A part of the NLC statement read: 

• “The Federal Government has refused to put in place safeguards to protect Nigerians from the harsh economic situation that its policies have inflicted on the people rather it has decided to insult the sensibilities of Nigerian masses by offering us N8,000 per family and offering themselves N70 billion.”