THE Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, yesterday said it has commenced mobilisation against the Federal Government’s proposed increase in petroleum pump price of over 200 percent in 2022.
The Federal Government had announced that it would withdraw subsidy on petroleum products next year, saying the burden of subsidy was heavy to bear.
But NLC’s disclosure of its mobilisation for a showdown against the government came on the heels of the charge to organized labour by a former General Secretary of Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, Chief Frank Kokori, to fight government’s manipulation and corruption tendencies masquerading as fuel subsidy.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of 17th NLC Harmattan School in Ilorin, Kwara State, NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, vowed that labour would resist attempt by the government to increase fuel price without making adequate arrangement to cushion the effect.
He contended that if government succeeded in the plan, the impact of the price hike would affect every Nigerian, motorists, households, transporters, and others.
Wabba lamented that out of the OPEC member countries, it was only Nigeria that was adhering to the International Monetary Fund, IMF, policies, which he described as neo-liberal.
He said: “The concept of accepting deregulation hook line and sinker anchored on import driven price model is not something that we can accept. We have said that without mincing words.
“If you say we are pushing through our throat to accept deregulation on the basis of importation, basically there will be no end to price increase even the issue of saying that once you deregulate without having the capacity to refine for domestic use will bring down the price of PMS, is not correct.
“When the price of crude oil was almost at a zero level, the price of two items that were deregulated never came down; that is diesel and the price of kerosene. In fact, they kept going up. The market fundamentals, marketers are out there to make maximum profit and usually they will collude and that is what will happen to Nigeria if we accept that policy hook line and sinker.
“The implication is not also on the working class because whether we like it or not, the minimum wage gain has been eroded completely with disparlel effect of the issue of failing value of our currency so the major issue under contention is actually how do we stabilise the value of the naira. Once you dont stabilise the value of the naira anything imported will have an effect on the larger economy but also on the cost of goods and services.
“This is the reality. So we are actually calling for reviving of the refineries, making them to work, don’t export our jobs let us benefit substantially from what God has given us freely.
-Vanguard
