Ajaero Slams Tinubu’s Economic Policies, Questions Fuel Subsidy Savings

According to Punch, labour leader Joe Ajaero has taken aim at President Bola Tinubu’s economic agenda, arguing that it has worsened the living conditions of ordinary Nigerians rather than bringing promised relief. Speaking in response to Tinubu’s recent address marking two years in office, Ajaero criticised the administration for recycling outdated and ineffective neoliberal policies.

He specifically highlighted the abrupt removal of the petrol subsidy in May 2023, which caused pump prices to jump from ₦187 to over ₦600 per litre. The move, he said, triggered a chain reaction of inflation, hunger, and business closures across the country. “Tinubu did not mention in his speech how much the country has saved from fuel subsidy removal,” Ajaero noted, pointing out the lack of transparency around the impact of the decision.

While President Tinubu did not disclose the exact savings from the removal of the fuel subsidy, he cited a rise in Nigeria’s external reserves—from $4 billion in 2023 to over $23 billion by the end of 2024—as a sign of progress. However, the Nigeria Labour Congress responded that these numbers have not translated into any real improvement in the lives of citizens, who continue to grapple with deepening poverty and economic instability.

Ajaero also criticised the administration’s move to unify the exchange rate, which was intended to attract foreign investment and increase market transparency. Instead, he said, the policy further devalued the naira and made basic goods more expensive. According to him, floating the naira has made locally produced items unaffordable and allowed other economies to benefit at Nigeria’s expense.

He likened Tinubu’s economic approach to “treating an illness with the very poison that caused it,” and compared the current path to past policies shaped by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which, in his view, left behind a legacy of suffering. Ajaero warned that repeating these measures without learning from past mistakes only compounds the frustrations of Nigerians.