Jonathan’s capital turns Ghost Town

Oluokun Ayorinde/Abuja

Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory was virtually a ghost town this morning as most people kept away from work in compliance with the strike declared by the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria over the 1st January removal of oil subsidy by the administration of President Jonathan.
Most offices in the Federal Secretariat were under lock and key as the civil servants kept away from work in compliance with the directive of the labour unions.
Workers in banks and other companies also did not report for work. P.M. NEWS investigations at Wuse market, one of the commercial hubs of the city also revealed that most shops did not open for business. Thus, the very few commercial vehicles on the road found it difficult getting passengers. There was heavy deployment of men of the Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, and soldiers across key locations in the city.
But the security men were virtually jobless as there was no incident that will warrant their intervention, except when the protesters were barred from entering the Eagles Square, venue of national ceremonies.

The rally organized to protest against the removal of fuel subsidy took off some minutes after 9 am from Berger Junction, Abuja and was led by Comrades Abdulwaheed Omar and Peter Esele, Presidents of NLC and TUC respectively. Also part of the rally were Comrade Isa Aremu, Vice President, NLC, Aminu Suleiman, a member of the House of Representatives, Dino Melaye and Patrick Obahiagbon, former members of the lower chamber, Comrade Yemisi Bamgbose, the President of Radio, Television and Theatre Workers of Nigeria among others. Protesters carried placards with inscriptions like “One day, the poor will have nothing to eat, but the rich”, “Nigeria is not an animal farm”, GEJ, we do not trust you, fresh air has turned to choking air”, “Face corruption and leave fuel subsidy”, “Jonathan, fight insecurity and refineries, our refineries must work”, “Subsidy removal is a curse on Nigeria” and so on to express their feelings about the removal of fuel subsidy. “The message is that Nigerians are saying no to removal of fuel subsidy. What organized Labour and civil society coalition is saying is that you must revert to N65”, Omar said while addressing the protesters. He also derided the 25 percent cut in the basic salaries of political office holders announced by the President last Saturday. “The President is the highest political office holder in Nigeria. His basic salary per annum is N3.5 million. If you reduce N3.5 million by 25 per cent that means you are reducing about N650, 000. Let’s assume that there are 10,000 other political officers in Nigeria, 650,000 times 10,000 is only a paltry N65 million” he said while noting that the savings from the salary cut announced by the President easily dwarfs other allocations to his office alone in the annual budget.
“The President’s entertainment allowance alone as provided in this year’s budget is N1 billion. The provision for travels for Mr. President this year is N10 billion. What we are saying is that that is not what the common man wants”. He also argued that the reduction in salaries of political office holders will not have any effect on the rising cost of transportation and cost of food and the only solution is a reversal of the price of petrol to N65 per litre. He also described as either barefaced lies or illegal spending on the part of government the claim that N1.3 trillion was spent on subsidy payment in 2011 when only N260 was allocated for it in the budget. Any money that should be spent, especially in that quantum, must be appropriated by the National Assembly. The National Assembly has said they have not appropriated such money that means even the expenditure on purported fuel subsidy is illegal. “What we are saying is that even if government said they have spent N1.3 trillion, why must the removal of subsidy be the solution. Why don’t they go after those whot have collected the money illegally?”, Omar added. He commended the House of Representatives over its resolution in which it asked the Federal Government to revert the price of petrol back to N65 per litre yesterday. The NLC President tasked the Senate to follow in the footsteps of the lower chamber. In his own address to the protesters, Esele derided President Jonathan’s last Saturday speech in which he announced a 25 per cent cut in salaries of public appointees, arguing that the cut did not amount to any significant amount. “The President has announced 25 per cent cut in his salary. Let’s say that is the first victory. But we also want to know how much is it. Did they touch their allowances?, Did they touch their cars? Have they reduced the numbers of their entourage?”, the TUC President asked to which the crowd yelled chorus “No”. Obahiagbon also addressed the protesters in his usual bombastic manner. “Government has said that the reason they are refusing fuel subsidy is that some microscopic few that constituted a cabal have hijacked the process. And I ask the question, why will Aminu Kano talakawas suffer for the crime of this cabal?”, querried Obahiagbon to wild applause from the protesters. “If we do, it means we have torpedo democracy and what we now have is cabalocracy which is a government of the cabal, for the cabal and by the cabal”, said the former member of House of Representatives. “Let’s say no to cabalocracy which is government of the cabal, by the cabal and for the cabal”, he concluded. The rally procession was still on as at the time of filing in this story.
Police allowed the protesters to pass through the various barricades they erected on the road with their vehicles, while imploring officials of the labour movement to ensure that the rally did not get out of hand. Reports however indicated that hoodlums may have hijacked the protest in Gwagwalada and other suburbs of the FCT.