By VICTOR AHIUMA-YOUNG & NOAMI MGBAKOR
WORKERS in the informal sector have rejected the Federal Government’s plan to remove subsidy on petrol, saying it would worsen the sufferings of Nigerians and that the so-called safety nets by government would be meaningless.

Under the umbrella of the Federation of Informal Workers’ Organisations of Nigeria, FIWON, the workers said that government’s reasons for the removal of subsidy were not tenable because the welfare of the majority of the masses was the reason for government’s existence.

The General Secretary of FIWON, Comrade Gbenga Komolafe, also faulted the plan to hike electricity tariffs and wondered why government did not discuss the so-called safety nets with stakeholders and unions.

He contended that “If some monies embezzled during programmes and those cut from salaries of political appointees can be saved, it will be enough to fund social protection net.”

According to him, “The federal government has announced its intention to increase the prices of petroleum products and electricity tariffs. They have gone on to link this plan to an intention to implement a programme of ‘social safety nets’ to cushion the effects of the increases. These so-called ‘safety nets’ have been arrogantly announced without consultations with relevant stakeholders especially organisations of the working poor and the trade union movement. It is no surprise that the content of the so-called ‘safety nets’ have little bearing to the central concerns of the working poor. More importantly, we deplore a situation whereby the announcement of social protection measures by the federal government is made conditional on policies that will completely obliterate whatever good the so-called safety nets will achieve. Increases in the prices of petroleum products and electricity tariffs will make aggregate costs of production, transportation of food and raw materials even more prohibitive with attendant consequence of more small businesses closing down. Kerosene will become more costly forcing even more people to use firewood with dire consequences on the environment.”

“On the other hand, a reasonable reduction in the colossal cost of governance with government bureaucracy and political appointees gulping close to 70% of national resources will immediately free trillions of naira to fund social protection measures as well as massive social and physical infrastructural projects all over the country. After all, previous increases in petroleum products’ prices and concomitant promises of investing in the social sectors have never been implemented. We therefore reject unequivocally, the planned increase in the prices of petroleum products as well as the hikes in electricity tariffs. We demand that our right to social protection be respected without conditions while calling on the National Assembly to enact a comprehensive social protection law to cover unprotected Nigerians. We also demand that the federal government should massively invest in the construction of refineries not only for domestic consumption but also for export as several other developing countries including non-oil producers have done rather than wait forever for so the called private sector to do so.”

On social protection the FIWON scribe said, “Most poor people in Nigeria are in the informal economy where there is no protection against their multiple vulnerabilities making the lofty objectives of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a pipe dream in Nigeria.