THE Federal Government of Nigeria, under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, has said that it will remove the 7.5 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) imposed on diesel while agreeing to pay all Federal workers N25,000 monthly for the next six months.
Media reports state that this development was announced by the Minister of Information, Alhaji Idris Mohammed, in a statement cataloguing the various decisions reached at the meeting on Sunday, October 1, 2023, with the leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in Aso Rock, Abuja.
The labour delegation was led by NLC President, Joe Ajaero, Deputy President of TUC, Dr Tommy Etim Okon, NLC General Secretary, Emma Ugboaja, and TUC General Secretary, Nuhu Toro, among others.
Details of the offers by the Federal Government to TUC and NLC, as released by Alhaji, Idris include the Federal Government announcing N25,000 only as a provisional wage increment for all treasury-paid FEDERAL GOVERNMENT workers for six months, the Federal Government is committed to fast-tracking the provision of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses to ease public transportation difficulties associated with the removal of PMS subsidy, the Federal Government commits to the provision of funds for micro and small-scale enterprises, VAT on diesel will be waived for the next six months, and the Federal Government will commence payment of N75,000 to 15 million households at N25,000 per month, for three months from October-December 2023.
However, resolutions in the meeting included the issues in dispute can only be resolved when workers are at work, and not when they are on strike, Labour Unions argued for higher wage awards, and the Federal Government Team promised to present Labour’s request to President Bola Tinubu for further consideration, a sub-committee to be constituted to work out the details of the implementation of all items for consideration regarding government interventions to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal, the lingering matter of Road Transport Employees Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) and National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Lagos State needs to be addressed urgently and Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who participated virtually, pledged to resolve the matter, and the NLC and TUC will consider the offers by the Federal Government to suspend the planned strike to allow for further consultations on the implementation of the resolutions above.
