With more than 20 million Nigerians who voted the three most popular parties in the general election and who incidentally supported the removal of fuel subsidy, Prince Adewole Adebayo of the Social Democratic Party SDP wondered why the voters kicked against the removal of the subsidy, an economic programme he campaigned to keep if elected even as he chastised the Labour unions for its hypocritical statements and actions.

Hours after President Bola Tinubu inaugural speech about removal of subsidy, fuel stations across the country increased the fuel pump price by more than 300 percent making the transport operators increased fares with its attendance effects on the passengers.

Members of the organised Labour under the aegis of the Nigeria NLC and TUC described the pronouncement by President Bola Tinubu as outrageous and insensitive to the economic plight Nigerian masses were being subjected to.
Joe Ajearo, president of the Nigerian Labour Union, advised the government to adopt an alternative strategy that would not adversely hurt the Nigerian while seeking to resolve the issue of subsidy.

Adebayo, while speaking on a TV programme, said Tinubu’s speech reflected his party,APC campaign plans for the country.
According to him, “they said they were going to remove fuel subsidy, we thought it was a very bad idea and we debated it all over the country but the three major parties who supported subsidy removal APC PDP and Labour Parties were handsomely rewarded by the voters. People like us, the SDP, who said no, cut the corruption because you need social safety net for the people, and the subsidy is a way to control other cost drivers to avoid cost push inflation. So try to cut the heavy burden of wastage of corruption, not the subsidy. The labour unions protesting now were there when these parties publicly said they would remove subsidy, none of them objected, why protesting now? You didn’t protest against the administration that engineered the process. Why now? It is now left to the Nigerian people to understand that elections have consequences and next time if you are not happy, the SDP is still here because you have 4 years to think about whether you made a good decision or not”.