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Labour union plans showdown with Nigeria’s president over petrol subsidy removal

Published

1 year ago

June 3, 2023

Following the decision by Nigeria’s new administration to end subsidies on petroleum products, the labour union in the country has announced a plan to embark on a nationwide strike next Wednesday.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Joe Ajaero, after an emergency meeting of the union’s executive council in Abuja, called for the reversal of the policy by the state oil company, NNPC.

“The Nigeria Labour Congress decided that if by Wednesday next week that NNPC, a private limited liability company that illegally announced a price regime in the oil sector, refuses to reverse itself for negotiations to continue, that the Nigeria Labour Congress and all its affiliates will withdraw their services and commence protests nationwide until this is complied with,” Ajaero said.

The country was thrown into confusion on Monday as the new president, Bola Tinubu, during his inaugural address, remarked that “fuel subsidy is gone”. The market reacted sharply as long queues followed at fuel stations, and a sharp increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, occurred.

The Nigerian government under former president Buhari had announced that the controversial subsidy regime would be discontinued by June this year. The then minister of finance, Zainab Ahmed had reiterated on occasions that Nigeria had no provision for fuel subsidy in the 2023 appropriation bill beyond June.

The country spent 4.39 trillion Naira ($9.7 billion) on petrol subsidies in 2022 and reportedly expended over N1.15 trillion in 2021 alone.

Some observers have argued that the hike in petrol price will put financial stress on the majority of Nigerians who depend on cheap petrol to power their businesses, as well as transportation, based on the poor state of public transit systems in the country.

The situation is compounded by the wage levels in the country. The minimum wage in Nigeria is 30,000 naira ($65). According to the National Bureau of Statistics, 63% of people living in Nigeria are poor, while the World Bank said in a report last year that as many as four in 10 Nigerians live below the national poverty line.

Meanwhile, President Tinubu has promised to review the minimum wage during a meeting with the ruling party state governors at his office in Abuja, adding that revenue collection should be strengthened.

“We need to do some arithmetic and soul-searching on the minimum wage,” Tinubu said

Related Topics:Featured Fuel subsidy Nigeria

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IMF mission concludes 4th loan program assessment in Egypt

Published

1 hour ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Following the completion of a recent visit to Egypt, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that its mission had achieved significant strides in policy talks aimed at concluding the fourth review of the IMF loan program.

The review is the fourth in Egypt’s most recent 46-month IMF loan program, which was authorised in 2022 and increased to $8 billion this year following an economic crisis characterised by high inflation and chronic foreign exchange shortages. It may unleash more than $1.2 billion in financing.

Along with reaffirming its commitment to maintain a flexible exchange rate system, the IMF stated that Egypt “has implemented key reforms to preserve macroeconomic stability,” including the unification of the currency rate that facilitated imports.

Earlier on Wednesday, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Cairo has asked the IMF to modify the targets for the programme not only for this year, but for its full duration, he added without giving more details.

“Discussions will continue over the coming days to finalize agreement on the remaining policies and reforms that could support the completion of the fourth review,” the IMF added in its statement.

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Kenya seeks $750m from World Bank, obtains $200m from AfDB— Official

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The head of debt management for the finance ministry told Reuters that Kenya had obtained a $200 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and was negotiating a fresh $750 million loan with the World Bank.

After being forced to abandon proposed tax rises costing more than 346 billion shillings ($2.68 billion) in June due to fatal demonstrations, the East African nation’s administration, which has been grappling with significant debt, has been frantically seeking fresh funding.

The Finance Ministry’s public debt management office director general, Raphael Owino, told Reuters that the IMF’s October clearance of the seventh and eighth reviews, which opened the door for a $606 million loan tranche, had aided the ministry’s talks for more loans.

“The World Bank is coming on board, riding on the back of IMF receipts,” Owino said. “The AfDB is already on board.”

The discussions for more assistance, which came under the World Bank’s “Development Policy Operations” (DPO) with the government, were confirmed by a representative at the organization’s Kenya office.

“The amount of the current (loan) is yet to be determined. The amount will also depend on the implementation of the policy reforms agreed upon,” the spokesperson told Reuters, adding that past DPO loans averaged about $750 million.

In May, the World Bank approved the latest round of DPO loans, totalling $1.2 billion.

According to a statement made last month by Finance Minister John Mbadi, Kenya has set a foreign borrowing goal of 168 billion shillings for the fiscal year ending in June 2025.