NLC vows to resist imminent increment of fuel pump price to N234 per litre

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Sunday, March 28, warned the Federal Government that the Nigerian people and workers would resist any attempt to increase the fuel pump price to N234 per litre, in the face of severe hardship being faced by the masses.

The President of NLC, Ayuba Wabba, who gave the position of Labour while speaking to journalists at the weekend said organized Labour would not allow inefficiency of the system that past and present governments have not been able to address be transferred to ordinary Nigerians.

Nonetheless, the NLC pledged to support the move by the Federal Government to fix the refineries, but said a due diligence and transparency should be deployed in committing resources to make sure the refineries are working.

Wabba said: “As we have said clearly, Nigerians and NLC will continue to resist this imposition on us. In fact, Nigerians are at the brink, we have been pushed to the wall and many cannot even afford a meal per day. Therefore, increasing the price of this important commodity will exacerbate the current bad situation.

“We have said it very clearly that we would continue to resist this anti-people and neoliberal policies that were imposed on Nigeria by Bretton Woods Institutions. There is no way we would allow inefficiency of our system that past and present governments have not been able to address be transferred to ordinary Nigerians.”

Rather than imposing another hardship on the masses, Wabba said the Nigerian citizens at this time requires palliatives and not additional hardship.

He emphasized that the Nigerian people should be seen to enjoy the proceed as a oil producing country whenever the price of crude oil goes up in the international market, but regretted that what should bring an advantage to the masses was rather being translated to hardship by Nigerian Government.

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The NLC president said: “In the midst of the price of crude oil price going up, which should be an advantage to all of us, it should not actually be a burden that we will now be lamenting that the price have gone up instead of us benefiting as Nigerians.”

Ripples Nigeria had reported that the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Malam Mele Kyari, revealed last week that a litre of petrol also known as Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) may soon be sold for N234 per litre.

Kyari explained that the new price was being contemplated because the NNPC can no longer sustain the monthly subsidy of N120 billion ($263,248 million) in dispensing the product at the current rate.

He emphasized that the NNPC could no longer afford to bear the cost, adding that sooner or later Nigerians would have to pay the actual cost for the commodity.

He said: “Today, NNPC is the sole importer of petrol. We are importing at market price and we are selling at N162. Looking at the current price situation, the market price could have been between N211 and N234 per litre.”

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