The Nigeria Labour Congress has tackled President Bola Tinubu over the economic hardship in the country, which it said was worsening.
The President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero, who faulted Tinubu’s economic reforms at the 21st Daily Trust Dialogue in Abuja, warned the President against heeding the advice of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
But the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, who was at the event, faulted Ajaero’s criticism.
He assured Nigerians that they would soon start enjoying the benefits of the reforms of the President.
Also, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in an interview with newsmen said the President’s economic reforms were pro-Nigeria and aimed to stabilise the economy and restore the ailing naira to its true value.
Following Tinubu’s removal of the fuel subsidy on his assumption of office on May 29, 2023, prices of goods and services went up.
He justified the decision by saying the government could not continue to subsidise fuel with billions of naira which he promised to invest in infrastructure and other social development programmes.
In protest, the NLC and Trade Union Congress held a street rally over the increasing cost of living due to government policies, especially the removal of the subsidy on petrol.
To address the forex crisis and boost liquidity, the government through the Central Bank of Nigeria, abolished the multiple exchange rates which collapsed into the Investors and Exporters.
However, the policy change has failed to yield the expected results as the forex crisis, which started under the Muhammadu Buhari administration, worsened with the national currency now exchanging for over N1,400 per dollar.
But on Thursday, the NLC president took a swipe at the policies of the Federal Government, noting that Nigerians were the losers in the economic programmes initiated by the President.
Speaking on the theme, ‘Tinubu’s Economic Reforms: Gainers and Losers,’ Ajaero cautioned the President against implementing IMF policies, noting that listening to the Bretton Woods institutions had never helped Nigeria.
