Organised Labour Counters Tinubu’s Scorecard

In an unflattering evaluation of President Bola Tinubu‘s two years in office, organised labour said Thursday that his policies and reforms had only caused Nigerians to suffer.

The labour movement countered Tinubu’s claims that the worst days are over, pointing out that his economic reforms have plunged over 150 million Nigerians into multidimensional poverty.

In a statement, the Nigeria Labour Congress President, Joe Ajaero, submitted that far from renewing hope, his government has merely recycled the same failed neoliberal experiments of the past.

However, the All Progressives Congress pushed back against Tinubu’s critics, accusing the NLC of misrepresenting the reality.

Responding to the criticisms against the President, the APC National Vice Chairman (South-East), Dr. Ijeoma Arodiogbu, said the NLC’s evaluation lacked depth and objectivity.

“Their statement was sponsored. The NLC failed to engage with the real issues and instead chose to grandstand,” Arodiogbu said.

“It’s disappointing to see a professional body making comments that sound more like what you’d hear in a marketplace. They ought to consult economists and policy experts before making such superficial remarks,” he added.

Speaking on Tinubu’s midterm record, Arodiogbu commended the President’s performance.

In a national broadcast to commemorate his second anniversary on Thursday, Tinubu touted the benefits of his reforms, saying, “We are on course to building a greater, more economically stable nation.”

He stated that his administration is on course to making life better for Nigerians.

Tinubu acknowledged the pains his reforms have unleashed, adding that he does not take the patience of citizens for granted.

“Today, I proudly affirm that our economic reforms are working. We are on course to building a greater, more economically stable nation. Under our Renewed Hope Agenda, our administration pledged to tackle economic instability, improve security nationwide, reduce corruption, reform governance, and lift our people out of poverty.’’

But Ajaero dismissed Tinubu’s assertions, stating that the government’s failure to move the nation forward had only proved once again that ‘’you cannot cure a patient by prescribing the poison that made him sick in the first place.’’

He said, ‘’When President Bola Tinubu took office on May 29, 2023, he promised a new dawn—bold economic reforms that would rescue Nigeria from fiscal instability and set it on a path to prosperity.

“But two years later, the only thing bolder than his rhetoric is the magnitude of suffering and hardship his policies have inflicted on workers and ordinary Nigerians.

“Far from renewing hope, his administration has recycled the same failed neoliberal experiments of the past, proving once again that you cannot cure a patient by prescribing the poison that made them sick in the first place.’’

The labour leader recalled how the sudden removal of the petrol subsidy sent shockwaves through an already fragile economy, causing fuel prices to skyrocket from N187 to over N600 per litre overnight.