- Ajaero: “Tinubu Betrayed Us, He Told Us He Won’t Increase Fuel Price”
- Presidency To Ajaero: “Stop Playing Dirty Politics, Tinubu Had No Agreement With Labour on Fuel Price”
By Abiola Olawale
The Presidency and the national president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Joe Ajaero, are locked in a heated argument over a recent increment in the pump price of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as fuel.
The NLC boss, in a press statement issued on Tuesday, had accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of betraying organised labour by allegedly breaking promises agreed on during negotiations for a new minimum wage.
Ajaero said Labour accepted the N70,000 minimum wage because the President promised there would not be an increase in fuel prices.
Ajaero also demanded an immediate reversal of the adjusted fuel price increase after several retail outlets owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) began selling fuel at N855 per litre.
He said: “We are filled with a deep sense of betrayal as the federal government clandestinely increases the pump price of PMS. One of the reasons for accepting N70,000 as the national minimum wage was the understanding that the pump price of PMS would not be increased even though we knew that N70,000 was not sufficient.
“We recall vividly when Mr President gave us the devil’s alternatives to choose from: either N250,000 as minimum wage (subject to the rise of the pump price between N1,500 and N2,000) and N70,000 (at old pms rates), we opted for the latter because we could not bring ourselves to accept further punishment on Nigerians.”
However, in a swift response, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Print Media, Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, denied that Tinubu had any agreement with Labour on the fuel price.
He maintained that at no time did Tinubu promise organised labour that his administration would not increase the price of fuel.
Abdulaziz, who took to his official X handle, also accused Ajaero and Labour of playing dirty politics and deceiving Nigerians.
He tweeted: “I sat through the two meetings President Bola Tinubu had with Labour leaders on minimum wage. At neither of the meetings was an offer made in exchange for a fuel price hike. Ajaero is once again playing his dirty politics with the emotions of Nigerians.”
