Industrial crisis looms as Labour rejects new fuel price, demands reversal

The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has the latest fuel pump price hike by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, and demanded it’s reversal.

The NNPCL had on increased the retail price of petrol from N897 per litre to N1,030, the second time it was hiking price since September.

Joe Ajaero, the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, described the new price regime as a betrayal of the Nigerian people.

He condemned the government for the manner it is handling the fuel price increase, and said it was wrong for a private company like NNPCL to fix prices for Nigerians.

“It looks like the only thing this government is known for is increasing the pump price of petrol without commensurate capacity of Nigerians or mitigatory measures,” he said.

The full statement read: “We are dismayed by the latest increase in the pump price of petrol. It looks like the only thing this government is known for is increase in the pump price of petrol without commensurate capacity of Nigerians or mitigatory measures.

“Even following the logic of market forces, we find it an aberration that a private company (NNPCL) is the one fixing prices and projecting itself as a hegemonic monopoly.

“We challenge the government to go to the drawing board and present us with a blueprint for an inclusive economic growth and national development instead of this spasmodic ad hocism and palliative policy.

“It needs no stating the fact that the latest wave of increase has grossly altered the calculations of Nigerians once again at a time they were reluctantly coming to terms with their new realities.

“It will further deepen poverty as production capacities dip, more jobs lost with multidimensional negative effects.

“In light of this, we urge the government to immediately reverse this rate hike as previous increases did not produce any good result. People only got poorer.

“But more fundamentally, the government should be bold enough to tell Nigerians in advance the destination it wants to take the country.”