The president of the Trade Union Congress, Festus Osifo, has asked the federal government to account for the money saved since the removal of fuel subsidy in May.
In July, President Bola Tinubu had said the Nigerian government saved more than N1 trillion from the removal of petrol subsidy.
Speaking during an interview on AriseTV on Wednesday, Mr Osifo said with such amount of money at the government’s disposal, the president has no business borrowing money.
He said: “The president and commander in chief on his own came out and said the country has saved N1 trillion. The Federal Government went everywhere to announce that if subsidy is removed, it’s going to save substantial amount of money.
“And so, we don’t expect them to go everywhere and start borrowing money. They told us they are going to save money. So where is the money that you have saved, and how have they deployed this money?”
Mr Osifo lamented that most government employees are compelled to stay overnight at their offices during the workweek because of the high cost of transportation.
While seeking the understanding of the organised private sector over the strike notice issued by labour unions, Mr Osifo stressed that going on industrial action is the last resort.
He said: “The organised private sector, at the end of the day, should also realise that we have done our part by putting all this forward to the government.
“Strike is always a last resort, that was why we embarked on this long journey.
“For any government that is looking at the plight of the people, I think four months, about 120 days, is sufficient for you to have put some things in place, for you to have put some social safety net in place, for you to have defined a framework on the way forward.”
