By Adedapo Adesanya
Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Sunday, appealed to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) not to embark on its proposed nationwide strike on fuel subsidy removal slated for Wednesday.
The Governor, who implored labour leaders to exercise patience on its proposed planned strike, urged the labour leaders not to be political over the issue of the removal of fuel subsidy, saying President Bola Tinubu means well for the country’s economy.
He said the subsidy removal was in the interest of all Nigerians, urging them to support President Tinubu to run the affairs of the country creditably.
Governor Sanwo-Olu spoke yesterday with journalists after the post-inauguration Church Thanksgiving Service held at the Cathedral Church of Christ, Marina in Lagos.
He begged the labour leaders to join hands with the present administration at the federal level and be patient with the President in his commitment to turn the economy around and make Nigeria a better place for all.
“We are thankful that Mr President is a product of Lagos. We will pray for him and everything that he stands for. We believe he will replicate all the good things he has done in Lagos in our country, Nigeria.
“I want to wish and plead with our citizens even as NLC has said to us that they want to go on strike. It is not the time for a strike. During the campaign trail, every one of our presidential candidates did say that the first thing they were going to do is to remove the subsidy. So, what has changed? What has the current president said or what has he done that is different from what any of the other aspirants said they would do?
“We need to be very patient. He (President Tinubu) has not even done a week. So let us talk to ourselves and say that we shouldn’t turn it political. Let us wait and support this man. He had not done a week on the job. Let him go and reflect, and at the sub-national level, we are willing to support him.
“The point is no industrial strike will solve anything at this point, it will certainly not bring an end to the issue. The point will be how we are going to ensure that there is a turnaround in our economy. He has mentioned something about a better wage. We have started that in Lagos. We started it in January, so other parts of the country can also do the same. We don’t need to wait for the national government. We just need to reflect on what the challenges are in our country and let us solve the problem,” he said.