By Ben Adoga, Abuja
Following the controversial issue of the Federal Government’s fuel price hike on Tuesday, which the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) upbraided as a betrayal of the agreement reached between the union and President Bola Tinubu during the minimum wage negotiation, the union has lambasted a presidential aide, Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, of denying the agreement.
The NLC had claimed that it accepted the N70,000 offer as the minimum wage on the condition that the Federal Government would not introduce another fresh fuel price hike regime, only for it to announce a hike in price of the product on Tuesday.
The NLC has accused Abdulaziz, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Print Media, that there was no such agreement between the Federal Government and the NLC.
In reaction, Ben Utah, the NLC’s Head of Information and Public Affairs, stated: “Our attention has been drawn to the denial credited to the Senior Special Assistant to Mr President on the Print Media, Mr Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, who was quoted as saying, “I sat through the two meetings that President Bola Ahmed 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.
“We find amusing the denial of Abdulaziz. We have since asked ourselves if he is suffering from selective amnesia or attention span deficit,” Upah said.
Upah, who insisted that the NLC stood on its N70,000 minimum wage negotiation claim, stressed:
“Whatever the matter is with Abdulaziz, we stand by our statement. And suppose Abdulaziz was at those meetings, as he claimed. In that case, he should be courageous enough to let the world know whether the President gave the labour leaders one hour to meet and resolve to either accept and allow an increase or accept N62,000.
“Labour leaders, instead, chose to meet outside the Villa and report in a week. When they came back, they were blunt and rejected the offer,” he added.
“As for Abdulaziz’s side-dig, he should stop insulting the intelligence of Nigerians as they do not need Comrade Joe Ajaero to know they have been taken for a ride and that life has never been this mean, all due to government policies.
“We also find it necessary to let Abdulaziz and those who sent him know that Nigerians are entitled to a decent and respectable life free from harassment, intimidation, and starvation. The government may have all the ultimate weapons of coercion, but true power resides with the people.
“Finally, we are also acutely conscious that falsehood does not live forever,” Upah said.
In a related development, a civil society organisation, Citizens for Democratic Dividends in Nigeria (CDDN), has berated the NLC, accusing it of playing with Nigerians’ intelligence to catch in on the emotions of fuel price pains and divert attention from the alleged criminal offences Joe Ajaero is facing with the police.
In a statement by its Executive Director, Comrade Ahmad Musa Idris accused Ajaero and the NLC of trying to manipulate Nigerians and drag them “into covering up Ajaero’s alleged terrorism charges and his efforts to manipulate the truth.”
Idris stated that the NLC’s statement on the agreement’s betrayal was “a desperate ploy to garner sympathy and deflect attention from his criminal charges.”
The CDDN said: “Ajaero’s sudden outcry, after months of inaction, is not only sad but also a testament to his disregard for the true interests of the Nigerian people.”
Idris said Nigerians should not be deceived into joining Ajaero in his ordeal but should allow him to carry his cross.
