NLC, TUC, task Tinubu on crude oil theft, subsidy, ASUU, others

The leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress on Monday took the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to task on the poor state of the economy, the unsavoury development in the oil and gas sectors, unstable power supply and the intractable crisis in the education sector in the country.

The APC candidate was accompanied to a session with organised labour leaders on Monday by his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila, Abubakar Badru, Atiku Bagudu, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, Simon Lalong, Governors of Jigawa, Kebbi, Kwara and Plateau States, respectively.

NLC President, Ayuba Wabba and his counterpart in the TUC, Festus Osifo led other union leaders which included President of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Comrade Williams Akporeha and NUPENG Trustees, Comrade Salimon Akanni Oladiti among others to the event.

President of the NLC expressed concern over fuel subsidy, crude oil stealing and specifically asked the APC presidential candidate on his plans to address the rot.

He said: “Fixing the oil and gas sector is top on the demand of the organised labour. How do you want to address the issue of subsidy? What is the volume of refined petroleum products consumed per day in the country?

“In all the OPEC countries, it is only in Nigeria that we hear that crude oil is being stolen! Corruption is at the heart of this.”

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Comrade Wabba also raised concern over growing statistics on out-of-school children and other pressing challenges in the education sector.

“We want to hear your perspectives on education. That ASUU was on strike for eight months is a sad commentary.

“One other issue is the management of our natural resources. How do you want to deal with illegal mining going on? How do you want to address this being a developmental issue, if it is well run, it can engage our teeming unemployed youths?

“We want to hear your perspectives on how you will fix the economy. Also dear to us is the issue of power. We can’t run our economy if power isn’t stable, energy is key. The power sector reform hasn’t delivered and no one is talking about the concession that have been done.”

His TUC counterpart, Comrade Osifo asked the APC candidate if given the mandate to do away with favouritism and ensure that competent individuals with enviable pedigree were given opportunity to work with him.

“We need round pegs in round holes. I wish to pray that we have a Nigeria country where everyone feel secure, I wish to pray that we have a united country with everyone given a sense of belonging.”

In his response, Tinubu promised to tackle corruption headlong.

On crude out theft, he said if elected, he would ensure maximum deployment of technology to monitor, protect pipelines and block theft, while also condemning those receiving stolen crude, saying if there is no receiver, there won’t be supplier.

Earlier in his presentation, Tinubu listed the problems of unemployment, lack of credit system to allow workers own houses, poverty, challenges in educational sector, weak industrial base of the economy as what he is coming to address as the President of Nigeria.

“Today, the questions you all you must ask yourselves are these: who can be trusted to accomplish all of this? The man who has done it before, or the man whose most lasting achievement as Vice President is the corrupt sale of national assets to his friends and cronies?

“Who has the better plan? The man whose blueprint guided the emergence of Lagos State as fifth largest economy in Africa or the man whose greatest pride is the amount of money he managed to bury in sand while his state’s infrastructure decayed and its workers suffered endless hardship?

“The choice is yours. But permit me to now talk a little about myself and my vision.

“I have always been and will continue to be a progressive democrat. In my worldview, government has a cardinal responsibility to work not only with business but also with labour to ensure that all constituent parts of our society are afforded their fair share of rewards without taking on undue hardship,” Tinubu said.

Former Deputy President of NLC and Director of Labour Directorate of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Comrade Isa Aremu, set the tone for the engagement when he told the labour leaders and workers that the choice before them and Nigerians in next election is who among the presidential candidates is truly committed, tested and trusted to protect workers and the poor and who is ready to industrialise the country to bring back decent jobs and good pay.

Comrade Aremu said Tinubu is the best to deliver on the priorities of the workers.