House of Reps urges Federal Government to Mitigate Effects of Subsidy Removal

The House of Representatives has urged the federal government to as a matter of urgency implement palliative measures to mitigate the effects of fuel subsidy removal on Nigerian citizens.

This was sequel to a motion of Urgent Public Importance moved by Mr. Aliyu Madaki representing Dala federal constituency of Kano state at plenary.

Mr. Madaki recalled that on May 29, 2023, President Bola Tinubu while delivering his inaugural speech announced the removal of fuel subsidy.

According to him, as a result of the subsidy removal, the official pump price of petrol skyrocketed from the initial N195 per litre to a whopping N480-N577 per litre as the prices varied between States.

He expressed concern that the implication of over two-hundred per cent price adjustment in fuel prices is that nearly all prices of goods and services have drastically increased.

“Also concerned that the sudden fuel subsidy removal has left millions of Nigerians terrified, thus causing untold hardship 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; 

“Aware that 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; 

“Also aware that the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress recently suspended a planned strike over the removal of fuel subsidy in the hopes that the Federal Government would address its adverse effects on workers”. 

He said that “the house is further aware of a Presidential directive to put palliative measures in place to ameliorate the impact of subsidy removal on Nigerians.”

Read Also: Fuel Subsidy: Nigerian Government Meets with Trade Union Congress

He expressed worries that the Federal Government is yet to provide palliative measures to mitigate the impact of the subsidy removal on Federal Government workers.

“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.” 

He noted that there was need to put in place measures to protect the rights of citizens and prioritize 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.

The house in a unanimous voice vote adopted the motion and mandated the Committee on Labour, Employment and Productivity (when constituted) to ensure compliance and report back within two (2) weeks for further legislative action.