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A former media aide to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri, has knocked the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) president, Joe Ajaero, over the ongoing nationwide fuel subsidy removal protest.
The condemnation by the self-aclaimed “Table Shaker” was made on his verified Facebook page monitored on Wednesday.
He wondered how the NLC president who had openly aligned with the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the February 25 election, Mr Peter Obi, can be fair with the call for nationwide protest
Omokri also noted that the strike is needless since the federal government had agreed to increase the minimum wage of civil servants, adding that all the major presidential candidates in the last election with the exception of Kwankwaso had agreed to remove the subsidy immediately if they emerge winner of the poll, and subsequently sworn in.
He then cautioned the NLC leadership not to take the country backward to the era of the last administration when the government was borrowing to pay for subsidy.
He also questioned the NLC’s president clandestine motives about the strike, since he said his home state, Imo had introduced palliative measure to cushion the effects of the subsidy removal.
“I’m wondering if it is possible for Joe Ajaero, who openly aligned with Peter Obi, to be politically neutral and act in the national interest. This protest and nationwide strike he has called for looks like a political stunt, especially considering that the current government has agreed to increase the minimum wage and that all major presidential candidates, except Kwankwaso, agreed that they would remove fuel subsidies. Including Peter Obi, who said they would go IMMEDIATELY.
“This strike is unnecessary and very ill-timed, more so when Nigeria is facing a crisis in Niger Republic that could spill over into Nigeria and destabilise our economy and political institutions.
“I may not support President Tinubu, but the palliatives and measures he announced two days ago were far-reaching and should have caused Labour and Ajaero to pause. But it didn’t. What is their agenda? This is about Nigeria, and it is time for us to be patriotic and do what is in the country’s best interest, no matter who is President. I am not sure that Ajaero would take this action if his friend, Peter Obi, were President.
“What exactly does Joe Ajaero want? Even his own home state of Imo has introduced palliatives.
“Should Nigeria continue to spend more on fuel subsidies than she spends on education, health, and housing? How is that economically viable?
“And can Mr Ajaero explain why the pump fuel price in neighbouring Benin Republic went up as soon as Nigeria ended fuel subsidies?
“Nobody should take us backwards to a Buhari era where we were borrowing to pay for fuel subsidies and tripled our foreign debt with nothing to show for it. Fuel subsidies must go, whether this present NLC likes it or not.
#TableShaker”, he said.
