The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, has slammed the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, accusing them of causing “unprecedented pain and hardship” to Nigerians.

Speaking at the 21st Daily Trust Dialogue on Thursday, Ajaero took particular aim at the recent petrol price hike, which he said was implemented under the guise of removing fuel subsidy.

He questioned the sincerity of the government’s motives, pointing out that the purported benefits of the policy have yet to materialize for the average Nigerian.

He said, “One of the controversial measures undertaken by the Tinubu administration was the hike in the price of petrol in the guise of the elimination of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit.

“The purported aim was to reduce government spending and redirect resources to other critical sectors. What are the immediate and long-term effects of these measures on the economy, inflation rates, and the cost of living?

“We do not want to argue with this government concerning the fiscal state of the economy or the size of the treasury that they met on assumption of office. If the treasury was emptied, we want to know what the government has done about those who emptied it or what it intends to do concerning them.

“We would also want to remind the government of its position on the treasury and the economy during the political campaigns. They told Nigerians that our treasury and the economy were in the best position they have ever been so, we can ask a simple question; were they lying then or now?

“Our independent investigation supports our earlier assertions. The government was not spending anything from its coffers to provide PMS to Nigerians. The truth was that the government was not getting the kind of profit it wanted from exercising a monopoly over the importation of PMS into Nigeria. That is the one it calls under recovery. It is recovering costs but not recovering as much profit as it wants.

“What it does mean is that the policy was not based on the truth. Nigerians were lied to and any policy that is not based on the truth is built on the wrong foundation therefore fails the test of integrity and will suffer validity thus the buy-in of the majority of Nigerians.”

“It is not difficult to identify the gainers and the losers in all this. The masses that I represent are the losers,” he added.

The theme of the dialogue was, “Tinubu’s Economic Reforms: Gainers and Losers”.