Dr. Sofiri Starson Peterside Jnr. and Dr. Enobong Akpan, the National President and Secretary-General of the association, respectively, issued a statement on Tuesday, in response to the current situation, in which they outlined eight demands for the current government.

In his inaugural address delivered last month, President Tinubu announced that the annual budget did not include a provision for petroleum subsidies. Therefore, the practice has ended. According to him, the subsidy's rising costs could no longer be justified due to dwindling resources.

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Tinubu, however, pledged to reinvest the funds in public infrastructure, education, healthcare, and jobs in order to materially enhance the lives of millions of people.

NAGGMDP urged the Federal Government to immediately suspend the removal of fuel subsidies and revert to the old retail price of PMS in order to avert the imminent multisectoral industrial discord that could bring Nigeria to a standstill. 

Below is a communiqué from the NAGGMDP detailing their eight demands for the Tinubu government:

“That we strongly align in solidarity with the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and call on the Federal Government to urgently suspend the removal of fuel subsidy and revert to the old pump price of PMS to avert the looming multisectoral industrial disharmony that may grind the country to a halt.

“That our refineries should be revamped to functional capacity as soon as possible, and licenses should be given for the establishment of more refineries to encourage local production of Petroleum products.

“The Federal Government should institute measures to stop crude oil theft, secure our borders and stop leakages within the oil and gas sector.

 

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“There should be a committee set up by the Federal Government to audit the subsidy regime since its inception and the use of funds recurrently allocated for the repair of our refineries and that the culprits brought to book.

“There is an urgent need for the Federal Government to strengthen healthcare financing by ensuring at least 15% budgetary allocation to the health sector. There is also a need to achieve universal health coverage through primary healthcare and National/State health insurance schemes across the country in order to reduce out-of-pocket expenses and guarantee accessible and affordable healthcare.

The NAGGMDP also urged the federal government to establish a strong economic team that will implement cushioning measures to protect citizens when the subsidy is ultimately eliminated.

It insisted that measures to resolve the widespread hunger and poverty in the country should be given top priority:

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“They should also bring on palliative board measures to mitigate the impact of the eventual subsidy removal on citizens, especially those on low incomes,”  

The workers' association added, emphasizing that the Federal Government, in the spirit of patriotism and sacrifice, should take steps to reduce the cost of governance by the Executive and the National Assembly, reduce borrowing, and channel such funds to other essential sectors of the economy, such as minimum wage increase.