The Organised Labour in a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari has told the presidency to be ready for another battle with Nigerians if he failes to arrest moves by functionaries in his administration to create “avoidable” labour and political crisis in the country.
The labour movement, while placing the workers under its platform on what it called “red alert”, also accused the presidency of trying to impose a new regime of fuel price hike on the country, thereby, subjecting Nigerians to severe hardship.
To make clear its position on the proposed fuel hike, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) recently summoned its three organs, the National Administrative Council (NAC), the Central Working Committee (CWC) and the National Executive Council (NEC), to an emergency meeting early December.
This, according to the labour centre, is to plan the next line of action in the event that the Federal Government goes ahead with its proposal.
Letters to that effect have been sent out and the meeting, among others, would give directive to the workers on the position of labour whenever government carries out its plan.
The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Malam Mele Kyari, announced that the price of petrol could rise to between N320 and N340 from February, 2022.
He said the price increase would be consequent on the plans by the Federal Government to remove subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit also commonly referred to as petrol or fuel.
Reacting, the NLC warned the Federal Government that the over 200 percent proposed hike on price of petroleum would further aggravate insecurity and possibly lead to citizens’ revolt.
The NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, on the statements credited to Kyari and the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, noted that the contemplation by government to increase the price of petrol by more than 200 per cent was a perfect recipe for an aggravated pile of hyper-inflation and astronomical increase in the prices of goods and services.
“This will open a wide door to unintended social consequences such as degeneration of the current insecurity crises and possibly citizens’ revolt. This is not an outcome that any sane Nigeria wishes for,” he said.
He reasoned that the argument that the complete surrender of the price of petrol to market forces would normalise the curve of demand and supply as being wrongly attributed to the current market realities with cooking gas, diesel and kerosene was very obtuse.
“The truth is that these commodities which Nigeria can easily produce have been priced out of the reach of most Nigerian families with majority of our people resorting to tree felling and charcoal for their energy needs,” he stated.
Wabba said the grand optimism of Kyari was predicated on the claims that the removal of fuel subsidy was now backed by an act of parliament, the Petroleum Industry Act, recently signed into law.
He said the assertion of Kyari was re-echoed on November 23, 2021, by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Ahmed, at the launch of the World Bank Nigeria Development Update (NDU), entitled “Time for Business Unusual”, where she announced government’s plan to disburse N5,000 to 40 million poorest Nigerians each as transport grant to cushion the effect of the planned removal of fuel subsidy.
Wabba said the disclosures by the NNPC GMD and the Minister of Finance were in agreement with the positions of the World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Mr. Shubham Chaudhuri and the International Monetary Fund, urging the Federal Government to do away with fuel subsidy.
Wabba reiterated Labour’s position that such deregulation based on import-driven model would impoverish Nigerians the more.
source: the nation online
