Group Lauds Labour, Urges Patience Over Fuel Subsidy Removal

A group, First Empowerment and Support for Peace Network (FESPEN), has called for patience among Nigerians on the removal of fuel subsidy and commended the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), for calling off the nationwide strike.

 The organization in a statement signed by the director general, Hajiya Maryam Yunusa Danjaki, also thanked president Ahmed Bola Tinubu and the federal government for the timely intervention on the strike.

FESPEN is a conflict resolution focused NGO registered in Nigeria with the aim of fostering peace, unity and harmonious relationship between the government and the people and the key actors in the polity.

While acknowledging that the sudden removal of oil subsidy may have some negative effects on the citizenry, especially considering the difficult times that most Nigerians faced during the period of electioneering campaigns as a result of the naira redesign policy, the group, however appeal to Nigerians to exercise a little more patience with the subsidy removal as they will soon begin to enjoy the benefits that follow.

“We commend president Tinubu for summoning the courage to take steps that will benefit the larger population of Nigerians by removing the organized crime against Nigerians called ‘oil subsidy’ an action the previous administrations could not take due to the involvement of some very highly placed individuals/cabals in the subsidy crime.

“While declaring our total support for the subsidy removal, we however, want to use this medium to appeal to the federal government, to urgently introduce some palliative measures to cushion the effects of the subsidy removal so as to ameliorate the pains and sufferings of the poor masses of Nigerians,” the statement said.