Fuel subsidy: Tinubu has immediate solution to cushion effect – Oshiomhole

A former governor of Edo state and president of the Nigerian Labour Congress, Adams Oshiomhole has said the  President, Bola Tinubu has an immediate solution to cushion the consequential effect of the subsidy removal.

The former governor said this while speaking in an interview with Channels Television’s Sunday Politics , stressing that the issues arising from the removal of fuel subsidy will be quickly resolved between the Federal Government and the organized labour.

Speaking further, Oshiomhole, explained that the president knows the impact the withdrawal of fuel subsidy is having on Nigerians and has the solution to cushion the effect.

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He said, “This president recognizes that the effect of the withdrawal is already here, people are already going through some level of discomfort and therefore there has to be an immediate solution to it.

“Now that immediate solution is what we discussed and the fact that we are meeting on Tuesday again shows that clearly, we realize that this is not one of those things you want to buy time because it has a real negative impact, on particularly, the most vulnerable group.

“But we have a solution to it because you are going to make savings, so take from that savings or even if it is borrowing.

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“So, whatever it is, you can leverage some revenue and improve wages to cushion the cost of living, I think it is legitimate, I think it is doable, it is not something that you want to spend two to three months negotiating,” he said.

Oshiomole, a chieftain  of the ruling All Progressives Congress(APC) was part of a meeting between the Federal Government and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) on Sunday.

He stressed that the meeting was productive, adding that the government will consider all the demands by the TUC and revert on Tuesday.

The former NLC president explained that Nigeria can save about N7 trillion by ending subsidy, the Federal Government can take part of that money and put in the wage sector.

He said, “This is possible because those savings will go into the federation account which will be distributed among the three tiers of government and so every tier of government will have more money and should be able to meet the consequential increase in wages.”