Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has sternly berated President Bola Tinubu for failing to pay overdue wage awards owing to federal public staff.
The former vice president criticised Tinubu’s administration for insensitivity, economic incompetence, and suppression of democratic freedoms.
In a statement on Sunday, Atiku said the Tinubu government had breached its commitment to cushion the impact of fuel subsidy removal by awarding a ₦35,000 monthly wage to federal workers.
Atiku maintained that “That promise, like many others under this government, has become a broken covenant.”
“It took the Tinubu administration a staggering 10 months to arrive at a new minimum wage figure. By implication, the federal government owes 10 months of wage award arrears to federal workers. Yet, only six months have been paid, and that too after a series of unfulfilled assurances and avoidable delays,” Atiku said.
According to him, the remaining four months equal ₦140,000 per worker, a significant relief that has gone unpaid while Nigerians continue to battle with severe economic difficulties.
“When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu hastily and thoughtlessly removed the fuel subsidy on the day of his inauguration, he triggered an economic avalanche that has since buried the average Nigerian under the weight of inflation, hunger, and despair,” he said.
The former vice president also decried the federal government’s plunge towards authoritarianism, noting the recent arrest and custody of labour activist Andrew Uche Emelieze, who attempted to arrange a peaceful rally to demand payment of unpaid salary awards.
“His only ‘crime’ was speaking up for workers abandoned by the state. We demand the immediate and unconditional release of Comrade Emelieze. His continued detention is an affront to democracy, a slap in the face of every Nigerian worker, and a chilling reminder of the authoritarian drift of the Tinubu administration,” Atiku declared.
While conceding that certain state governments have taken responsible steps to address labour issues, Atiku claims that the federal government has demonstrated “callous indifference and utter disdain for workers’ welfare”.
He concluded by stating that Nigerian workers will not be silenced and warned that the government’s inaction and heavy-handedness will not erase the truth of the escalating crisis.
“The economic hardship is real, the hunger is biting, and the government has a duty to act, not repress,” Atiku added.
