We are dealing with a tyrant, industrial action may be escalated, says Wabba
THE Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has accused his fellow governors of abandoning his administration in its face-off with the Nigeria Labour Congress.

El-Rufai said this during a virtual meeting of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum on Wednesday.

Also at the meeting, a committee set up by the NGF recommended a petrol price of between N408.5 per litre and N380 per litre. It called for immediate removal of fuel subsidy.

Before the committee submitted its report, El-Rufai had berated the forum.

He also accused an unnamed governor of providing mobilisation funds for the NLC to destabilise Kaduna State.

Workers in the state workers had on Monday begun a five-day strike over El-Rufai administration’s retrenchment of 45,000 workers and the alleged anti-labour policies.

There was confusion in the state on Tuesday as thugs attacked workers at a rally organised by the NLC prompting the congress to issue a statement, where it threatened to declare a nationwide strike.


El-Rufai had earlier on Tuesday declared the NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, wanted for allegedly sabotaging the economy of the state.

Baring his mind at the NGF meeting on Wednesday, El-Rufai said he did not get the required support from his colleagues.

He stated, “I am a governor. I am one of you. The least I expect from the Nigeria Governors Forum is unequivocal and unqualified support. I didn’t see that in that statement.

“I am being very blunt. I could pretend and be political and just smile and say it was alright but it is not. But I am used to fighting my own battles.”

The NGF, in a statement by its Chairman, Dr Kayode Fayemi, on Monday had urged the NLC to exercise restraint in its engagement with the Kaduna State Government.

It stated, “The NGF calls for cautious introspection on the part of Labour as no meaningful progress of any kind has ever been achieved in an atmosphere of conflict and chaos.”

Besides criticising the NGF, the Kaduna State governor described labour unions as the greatest threat to Nigeria. He stated that governors must come together to tackle their menace to prevent the country from degenerating further.


The governor further said, “We will fight this. We are breaking them and they will leave town ashamed. I will not give them one inch because this is not about unionism.

“If it is about rights of workers, Kaduna is not the only state that has retrenched workers. Kaduna is not a state owing salaries. Kaduna is not a state failing to pay minimum wage. Kaduna is not a state owing years of pension arrears. Why didn’t they go there? Kaduna was targeted for political reasons; and they are being financed by certain political interests. But we will fight them, we will defeat them but as the Governor of Bayelsa said, and since he has brought that subject, I have a responsibility to put it through, unless we collectively address this monster, it will consume all of us.

“After this, they (NLC) will never come back to Kaduna. They will never come back, you will see. They will go to other states. It is up to the forum to decide on what to do, but we are here, we are ready, we will end this by the grace of God.

“I would like to inform the forum that one of our colleagues, a state governor actually gave the NLC money to come to Kaduna to do this because people think everything is politics. This is not politics. This is a monster that will consume all of us. It will not consume Kaduna I’m confident of that.”

When reminded that the NGF issued a statement from the office of the chairman on the subject, El-Rufai replied, “That press release with the greatest respect was unhelpful. It was unhelpful. It said nothing. It was trying to play both sides.”

El-Rufai spoke after the Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, expressed displeasure over the lack of support for El-Rufai.

He explained that what the Kaduna State governor was dealing with would soon catch up with other states if the situation was not properly managed.

Between el-Rufai and the NLC
Ekweremadu, health workers berate El-Rufai over attack on workers
He said, “We are not running a unitary system (of government), we are a federation. We were elected to govern different states. We owe our people accountability not the NLC, we should take a common stand.”

Earlier, while presenting the report of the NGF committee on subsidy on petrol, El-Rufai, who is the chairman of the committee, explained that the current subsidy regime was unsustainable because smugglers and illegal markets in neigbouring African countries were the beneficiaries.

The committee recommended that the removal of subsidies should be immediate to save the nation’s economy.

He noted that Nigeria, like other Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries member countries, agreed to a cut production to keep the prices high but that Nigeria could not fully benefit from the regime because of subsidies.

The Kaduna governor said, “Between N70bn and N210bn is estimated to be spent every month to keep gasoline price at N162 per litre, this is below the cost price and the remittance to the federation account will shrink to less than N50bn per month or even zero if threats persist.

“We are already at zero. I understand for tomorrow, so this scenario has occurred.

“Why are we keeping the price at N162? We are keeping the price because the Federal Government and trade unions met and agreed to the suspension of some industrial action months back.

“Even though we all supported deregulation of petroleum products prices last year, this agreement was suspended by the Federal Government because of a threat of industrial action by unions. This is the root of the problem and now we are back to losing between N70bn to N210bn per month.”

He further explained that in the 2021 budget the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation had committed to remitting a minimum of N120bn per month to the federation account, but it had been unable to do so.

While presenting the recommendation of the committee about the price of petrol, he further explained that only about 12 states consumed two-thirds of the petrol, which was heavily subsidised.

The committee recommended N408.5 litre as the appropriate price in the circumstance but that with concessions to labour unions, N380 per litre could be the minimum.

El-Rufai stated, “The committee recommends PMS pump price increment from the current N162per litre to N408.5 per litre (negotiations with organized labour unions). N380per litre (settlement with organized labour).”

This, he said, was necessary to free funds for critical projects and payment of other obligations.

Other governors who contributed to the debate included Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State who said the 93 million litres which the NNPC claimed was consumed in Nigeria daily was unacceptable.

We are dealing with a tyrant, industrial action may be escalated, says Wabba
THE Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has accused his fellow governors of abandoning his administration in its face-off with the Nigeria Labour Congress.

El-Rufai said this during a virtual meeting of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum on Wednesday.

Also at the meeting, a committee set up by the NGF recommended a petrol price of between N408.5 per litre and N380 per litre. It called for immediate removal of fuel subsidy.

Before the committee submitted its report, El-Rufai had berated the forum.

He also accused an unnamed governor of providing mobilisation funds for the NLC to destabilise Kaduna State.

Workers in the state workers had on Monday begun a five-day strike over El-Rufai administration’s retrenchment of 45,000 workers and the alleged anti-labour policies.

There was confusion in the state on Tuesday as thugs attacked workers at a rally organised by the NLC prompting the congress to issue a statement, where it threatened to declare a nationwide strike.



El-Rufai had earlier on Tuesday declared the NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, wanted for allegedly sabotaging the economy of the state.

Baring his mind at the NGF meeting on Wednesday, El-Rufai said he did not get the required support from his colleagues.

He stated, “I am a governor. I am one of you. The least I expect from the Nigeria Governors Forum is unequivocal and unqualified support. I didn’t see that in that statement.

“I am being very blunt. I could pretend and be political and just smile and say it was alright but it is not. But I am used to fighting my own battles.”

The NGF, in a statement by its Chairman, Dr Kayode Fayemi, on Monday had urged the NLC to exercise restraint in its engagement with the Kaduna State Government.

It stated, “The NGF calls for cautious introspection on the part of Labour as no meaningful progress of any kind has ever been achieved in an atmosphere of conflict and chaos.”

Besides criticising the NGF, the Kaduna State governor described labour unions as the greatest threat to Nigeria. He stated that governors must come together to tackle their menace to prevent the country from degenerating further.


The governor further said, “We will fight this. We are breaking them and they will leave town ashamed. I will not give them one inch because this is not about unionism.

“If it is about rights of workers, Kaduna is not the only state that has retrenched workers. Kaduna is not a state owing salaries. Kaduna is not a state failing to pay minimum wage. Kaduna is not a state owing years of pension arrears. Why didn’t they go there? Kaduna was targeted for political reasons; and they are being financed by certain political interests. But we will fight them, we will defeat them but as the Governor of Bayelsa said, and since he has brought that subject, I have a responsibility to put it through, unless we collectively address this monster, it will consume all of us.

“After this, they (NLC) will never come back to Kaduna. They will never come back, you will see. They will go to other states. It is up to the forum to decide on what to do, but we are here, we are ready, we will end this by the grace of God.

“I would like to inform the forum that one of our colleagues, a state governor actually gave the NLC money to come to Kaduna to do this because people think everything is politics. This is not politics. This is a monster that will consume all of us. It will not consume Kaduna I’m confident of that.”

When reminded that the NGF issued a statement from the office of the chairman on the subject, El-Rufai replied, “That press release with the greatest respect was unhelpful. It was unhelpful. It said nothing. It was trying to play both sides.”

El-Rufai spoke after the Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, expressed displeasure over the lack of support for El-Rufai.

He explained that what the Kaduna State governor was dealing with would soon catch up with other states if the situation was not properly managed.

Earlier, while presenting the report of the NGF committee on subsidy on petrol, El-Rufai, who is the chairman of the committee, explained that the current subsidy regime was unsustainable because smugglers and illegal markets in neigbouring African countries were the beneficiaries.

The committee recommended that the removal of subsidies should be immediate to save the nation’s economy.

He noted that Nigeria, like other Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries member countries, agreed to a cut production to keep the prices high but that Nigeria could not fully benefit from the regime because of subsidies.

The Kaduna governor said, “Between N70bn and N210bn is estimated to be spent every month to keep gasoline price at N162 per litre, this is below the cost price and the remittance to the federation account will shrink to less than N50bn per month or even zero if threats persist.

“We are already at zero. I understand for tomorrow, so this scenario has occurred.

“Why are we keeping the price at N162? We are keeping the price because the Federal Government and trade unions met and agreed to the suspension of some industrial action months back.


“Even though we all supported deregulation of petroleum products prices last year, this agreement was suspended by the Federal Government because of a threat of industrial action by unions. This is the root of the problem and now we are back to losing between N70bn to N210bn per month.”

He further explained that in the 2021 budget the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation had committed to remitting a minimum of N120bn per month to the federation account, but it had been unable to do so.

While presenting the recommendation of the committee about the price of petrol, he further explained that only about 12 states consumed two-thirds of the petrol, which was heavily subsidised.

The committee recommended N408.5 litre as the appropriate price in the circumstance but that with concessions to labour unions, N380 per litre could be the minimum.

El-Rufai stated, “The committee recommends PMS pump price increment from the current N162per litre to N408.5 per litre (negotiations with organized labour unions). N380per litre (settlement with organized labour).”

This, he said, was necessary to free funds for critical projects and payment of other obligations.

Other governors who contributed to the debate included Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State who said the 93 million litres which the NNPC claimed was consumed in Nigeria daily was unacceptable.



While addressing the media after the event, Fayemi, who spoke on some of the issues discussed, appealed to labour to give peace a chance in Kaduna by returning to the negotiation table.

In response to a question on the ongoing strike by the judiciary and parliament workers, Fayemi said most of the issues had been agreed on.

He explained that the forum was not in direct negotiations with the striking union but with the representatives of the National Judicial Council and the speakers’ parliament.

Fayemi said, “It is in the interest of Nigeria that they return to work for justice to be dispensed to many Nigerians awaiting trial or justice.“
Source: https://punchng.com/El-Rufai-attacks-govs-over-strike-NGF-mulls-N380/litre-fuel-price

El Rufai wan just kill people

civilians vs political holders, going after them is d only way to solve Nigeria problem.


when they realize guns can't protect them, dey will stop being stupid

My focus on the petrol pump price not El-rufai lamentations.
380 what? Are they mad?

Anyone that intends to cause more hardship for the masses, God shall punish him/her.

Ooay

Dis short man

Did i just read N380 for a litre of petrol ?

Is the NGF aware of the current untold hardship in the country ?

Whoever is mulling such idea better shelve it else it will be the last straw that will finally push the country into precipice

Pmpm:
Dis short man

Yeeeee!!!......

Maxymilliano:

Did i just read N380 for a litre of petrol ?

Whoever is mulling such idea better shelve it else it will be the last straw that will finally push the country into precipice

It's Hell Rufai and the rest........

#380 from #165.

That's more than double the present cost! The wickedness of some people is truly factory fitted.

The excuse of smugglers taking the commodity into neighbouring countries is stale,wicked and lazy.

Don't we have agencies funded to prevent snuggling?

My point has always remained the same. Most of our leaders are thieving useless individuals.

They should continue paying subsidy until our refineries start working. But that only helps the common man if people like dangote don't find excuses to hike prices.

Difficult and hard time ahead.

mcbreeze:
My focus on the petrol pump price not El-rufai lamentations.
380 what? Are they mad?

This one will finally cripple the country....

Have you gone to market lately....

We have not seen anything... Brace yourself Nigerians... You elected fools to rule you

The governors are only worried that they no longer have enough money to steal hence their desperation to remove fuel subsidies and reduce their workforce. The coming months will be very hard for ordinary Nigerians including those that voted and support these evil regime.

Mark my words, very soon the greediness of these governors and politicians will push Nigeria to a breaking point. They will be shocked that even their willing tools, the almajiris in the North will turn against them. Spontaneous revolution that will engulf the whole country will start from the North. The increase in banditry in the north is due to rampant poverty and unemployment especially in the region. The Northern youths are losing their cultural and religion values. It will get to a stage that they will start attacking their elites and politicians. With the wider usage of mobile phones and social media, the northern youths are now better informed and they can no longer be mobilised easily on religious sentiments.

Okay na I sha know say las las we no go chop grass for this country...

So Rufai said petrol was expensive at 65 naira and should be dropped to 40 naira.

Today they want to hit 500 per litre. Who get money should go and buy dollars

truthfulparrot:
The governors are only worried that they no longer have enough money to steal hence their desperation to remove fuel subsidies and reduce their workforce. The coming months will be very hard for ordinary Nigerians including those that voted and support these evil regime.

Mark my words, very soon the greediness of these governors and politicians will push Nigeria to a breaking point. They will be shocked that even their willing tools, the almajiris in the North will turn against them. Spontaneous revolution that will engulf the whole country will start from the North. The increase in banditry in the north is due to rampant poverty and unemployment especially in the region. The Northern youths are losing their cultural and religion values. It will get to a stage that they will start attacking their elites and politicians. With the wider usage of mobile phones and social media, the northern youths are now better informed and they can no longer be mobilised easily on religious sentiments.

Nigerians won't do jack. They will accept suffering and move on. Na today