The House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to provide palliatives for Nigerians as a result of the sufferings created by the Bola Tinubu administration’s removal of the subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (petrol).
The House urged the administration to “immediately implement palliative measures to mitigate the effects of fuel subsidy removal on Nigerian citizens” during the session on Wednesday.
The House also charged its newly formed Committee on Labour, Employment, and Productivity with ensuring compliance with the resolution and reporting back within two weeks for additional legislative action.
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These resolutions were based on the unanimous adoption of an urgent public importance motion headed ‘Urgent Need to Implement Palliative Measures to Mitigate the Effects of Fuel Subsidy Removal on Nigerians.’
Sani Madaki, a member of the House who supported the motion, recalled how President Bola Tinubu announced the abolition of gasoline subsidies in his inaugural speech on May 29, 2023.
According to Madaki, the loss of subsidies caused the official pump price of fuel to rise from N195 per litre to a startling N480-N577 per litre, with prices varying between states.
He said, “The House is concerned that the implication of over 200 per cent price adjustment in fuel prices is that nearly all prices of goods and services have drastically increased;
“The House is also concerned that the sudden fuel subsidy removal has left millions of Nigerians terrified, thus causing untold hardships, as Nigerians grapple with the challenges of meeting up with, not only the high cost of petrol but also the consequent increase in the prices of goods and services.
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“In response to the resulting financial strain of the subsidy removal on public workers, some proactive state governments introduced temporary measures to alleviate the situation by reducing work days from five to three days per week for the state-employed workers, pending when other sustainable palliatives can be provided.
Madaki also mentioned how the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress had postponed a scheduled walkout over the subsidy’s elimination in the hopes that the Federal Government will address its negative impact on workers.
He also mentioned a presidential mandate to implement palliative measures to lessen the impact of subsidy reduction on Nigerians.
“The House is worried that the Federal Government is yet to provide palliative measures to mitigate the impact of the subsidy removal on Federal Government workers. The House is also worried that since the removal of the subsidy, several protests have been recorded as citizens accuse the government of being insensitive to their needs.
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“The House is cognisant of the need to put in place measures to protect the rights of citizens and prioritise the provision of palliatives to mitigate the challenges that have arisen from the fuel subsidy removal, and ensure a more sustainable and inclusive economic framework for the benefit of Nigerians.”
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