Tinubu’s strategy that averted fuel subsidy strike; sorting out 10th NASS leadership
President Bola Tinubu has kept up with the pitch he kicked off all throughout the last week. This was evident in the features of virtually all national dailies and major news bulletins of national television stations, even in the media channels that will not see themselves as friendly with the President’s ambition from the onset. Like an analyst, Emmanuel Bello, described it Thursday morning while featuring on Arise News’ daily breakfast show, Daybreak, the President has featured all week, “back-to-back.”
During the week, two major activities defined the President Tinubu’s activities and what will seem to be his approach to governance. Whether he was the one who planned them or the events formed themselves as the circumstances he must confront and defeat, the storm generated by subsidy removal and the need to approach the composition of the leadership of the 10th National Assembly ahead, dominated the week and occupied most of his itinerary. At the end of it, Nigerians and global watchers were left in no doubt that the President is both a consummate negotiator and a deft strategist.
Indeed, right from Sunday June 4, marking the start of his second week in office, President Tinubu exerted more force into solving the country’s myriad of problems, the most pressing of which was the petrol subsidy monster, which has assailed the country and its economy for more than forty years. His negotiators held a meeting with the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) that night. It would be recalled that the President had, at the Eagle Square, after his swearing-in, declared that the country could not continue sustaining the funding of fuel subsidy – a declaration that sparked harsh reactions both from marketers and consumers.
The reactions threatened to shut down the entire system as the Organised Labour started rallying its affiliate bodies for a nationwide indefinite strike. According to a notice sent out on Friday June 2 by the President of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, the planned but aborted strike was in protest of new (hiked) pump price templates issued by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), questioning the grounds on which the company, which has become a private concern, became moderator of market activities. All that storm, which had threatened to force the nation to a stand-still, was calmed with a couple of meetings and negotiations, which proffered some points of resolutions and agreements, part of which was the decision by the NLC to suspend its earlier notice of nationwide strike, late Monday evening.
On that note of victory for the federal government and the team of negotiators, including Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker of the House of Representatives, who had earlier been designated Chief of Staff to the President, Tinubu started his second week of Presidency. It should be placed on record that the threat of strike and its imminent attendant dislocation were staved off by arriving at seven resolutions and three agreements. It should also be placed on record that Ajaero’s NLC and Festus Usifo’s TUC were calmed by the measured and mannerly team of negotiators, including former governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole; the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Mele Kyari; former Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Dele Alake; former Lagos State Commissioner for Finance, Mr Wale Edun; James Faleke; and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Kachollom Daju. Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele; former Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo; Executive Secretary of the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC), Zacch Adedeji; Executive Vice President, Downstream, of the NNPCL, Yemi Adetunji, among others, were part of the team that won victory for the Presidency.
Having secured the understanding of the Organised Labour on the exigency of removing fuel subsidy, which has become the leach on the nation’s economic soul, and secured the needed reprieve not to start on a note of labour animosity, Tinubu moved on to secure the faith of the Organised Labour and Nigerians by making other moves to firm up the base of the resolutions and agreements reached. On Wednesday, he started with convening his first-ever meeting with the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), led by its Chairman, Governor AbdulRahaman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State, to start the laying of the needed foundations for meeting his agreements with labour.
The meeting with the NGF, among other things, provided the President with the avenue to call for the immediate convening of the National Economic Council (NEC), which is statutorily chaired by the Vice President. NEC is the clearing house for the most critical economic concerns of the nation and it is the platform on which the federal and state government officials meet to decide most of Nigeria’s economic fate. At the end of his first meeting with the NGF, it became clear that his major reason for inviting the governors was to get them to start work on executing the resolutions of the negotiations with the Organised Labour; calling for the convening of the NEC, categorically to start deciding on the issue of salaries and wages review as well as other critical steps towards shielding Nigerians against the harsh realities of the subsidy removal.
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Giving a peek into the discussions the President had with the NGF, Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, who had led members of Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) and Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) on a courtesy visit to the President, still on creating a soft landing for Nigerians on the subsidy removal move, said Tinubu instructed a coordinated approach between government, through the economic team and petroleum marketers, to structure out a wholesome intervention. “Some of us are looking at enhancement of minimum wage. Mr President has announced today that NEC should immediately begin to sit, led by His Excellency, the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, and the committee of NEC, alongside with the economic team and the marketers should sit down and come up with a wholesome approach that will be beneficial to the common man and the generality of Nigerians,” he disclosed.
Still on Monday, the President moved on to the next most critical target for the week, being moves to realise a favourable leadership for the incoming 10th National Assembly. Although he might not have been thinking or working it the way it came out to look in the course of the week, the various engagements in the direction of the Legislature seemed very much like someone laying the bricks to build something out of his moves. On Monday afternoon, among the usual many meetings he held, there was a particular one involving former Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike; former Ebonyi State Governor and now Senator-elect, Dave Umahi, and one of the frontrunners for the office of the President of the 10th Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio. Of course, it was held behind closed-doors and not many can claim to know what they discussed. However, many believed it was focused on strategies to secure victory for the preferred candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for the leadership of the next National Assembly.
He continued on subsequent days of the week to hold meetings with members-elect of the 10th National Assembly, either as individuals or in groups and finally met with the whole House. For instance, on Tuesday, he met with some of the aspirants to House of Representatives offices, including Deputy Speaker Idris Wase in the afternoon, then Yusuf Gadgi, Sada Soli, Miriam Onuoha, and Muktar Betara in the evening. On Wednesday evening, he held an enlarged meeting with the leadership of the APC as well as senators and members-elect of the ruling party, where he reportedly told them “there’s no need for squabbles, that if members of the same party find it difficult to agree, what impression would they be giving those in the opposition?”
He held a similar meeting with all senators and members-elect across all parties Thursday afternoon, where he “generally appealed to everyone to put Nigeria first, be focused on the purpose of legislature and didn’t need to tell us who to vote for because we all know what to do.” He is expected to proclaim the 10 National Assembly on Tuesday, June 13. It is believed the event, as well as the subsequent election of its leadership, should go hitch-free because members “already know what to do.” Like some people will say, the 10th Assembly, all things being equal, already got sorted. It should be noted, however, that the two apparent major targets did not go unescorted by other issues and activities. As he was working to sort out the fuel subsidy removal (and its ancillary issues) and the 10th National Assembly matters, the President was also attending to many other matters.
On Monday, he took a tour of the new Office of the National Security Adviser and facilities at the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), in Abuja, during which event he built on the previous week’s ‘pep talk’ to the nation’s security and intelligence managers, charging them on sharing of intelligence and working as a team. He later met with the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU), called on them and other health workers to call off their strikes. They did the next day. On Wednesday, the President performed the swearing-in of Senator George Akume as the 21st Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), signalling take-off of gradual formation of the government. He also sought the cooperation of the European Union (EU) for Nigerian and African when he spoke during a telephone conversation with the President of the European Council, Mr. Charles Michel.
On Thursday, he signed the first legislation into law as President, an amendment to the 1999 Constitution (Fifth Amendment) (No.37), 2023, which effectively brought the retirement age and pension rights of judicial officers and other related matters, into uniformity. He also granted audience to various visitors, including the governors of Plateau, Akwa Ibom and Enugu states, Caleb Mutfwang, Umo Eno and Peter Mbah, respectively. He also met with the G5, including Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and Wike of Rivers, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia, Ifeanyi Ugwuwanyi of Enugu and Samuel Ortom of Benue State, all members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
On Friday, the President continued with consultations as he had an interactive session with the Nigerian traditional rulers from the six geopolitical zones of the country, on the platform of the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria (NCTRN), where he sought support and prayers, as well as briefed the royal fathers on a couple of issues, including security, the 10th National Assembly leadership election and others. He held a closed-doors meeting with one of those who contested against him in February, Musa Kwankwaso of the New Nigerian Political Party (NNPP). Going by the last reported action late Friday, it seemed he already has set the tone for what would be the major highlight of this week: SGF announced the suspension of the CBN Governor, Emefiele, by the President. This action, which has been hailed as another major step towards achieving one of the key areas he cited as needing urgent attention in his inaugural address, being plan to tinker with the nation’s monetary policy. It is looking like Emefiele’s suspension and its ripples will feature significantly in the new week.
