NLC warns FG against plot to effect fuel price increase

The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has warned the Federal Government against a purported plot to increase the price of petroleum products.

The NLC, said should any such thing happen it will employ both mass protest and any other legitimate means possible to oppose it.

NLC contended that instead of contemplating increments in the prices of the products, government should rather do a downward review of the current price of the products.

This was even as NLC withdrew its earlier endorsement of plans by the Muhammadu Buhari-led government to borrow about $29 billion. It said the administration should make more efforts to recover stolen funds and use them for infrastructural development.

NLC president, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, stated this during the opening of its National Executive Council meeting in Sokoto.

“While Nigerians are still struggling to cope with the severe hardship imposed on them by the last increase in the price of petroleum products, there are ongoing media campaigns and contradictory statements by the NNPC and government officials on yet another plan to review the template for the pricing of petroleum products.

“We are totally opposed to any further increases as we are yet to see the benefits of the last increase even as the current Minimum Wage Act has not been reviewed.

“It would amount to unleashing further hardship on workers and the poor if any further price increase is allowed.

“The government must not take us for granted. Indeed, the patience and perseverance of the entire populace must not be taken for granted, as we will sure mobilise the entire citizenry for mass protests in addition to other legitimate actions to resist any further increase.

“What is urgently required of government is not another increase but a downward review of the current pump price of petroleum products.

“The current National Minimum Wage Act has long elapsed, and as you are already aware, we have long submitted our proposal for a review but Government seems not in a haste to recognise the urgency in attending to our demands.

“Nigerian workers and pensioners are as important to the growth of the economy and must not be allowed to continue to suffer further hardships.

“We therefore reiterate our call on government to treat the review of the minimum wage and pension with the utmost urgency they deserve,” Wabba said.

The NLC president however commended the Federal Government’s sustainance of the battle against corruption but called for more systemic, strong laws and strengthened institutions to help sustain the battle.

He said, “Our country has been seriously harmed both in image and resources by the impunity with which public funds were looted for decades such that what we need is beyond a flash in the pan approach.

“We will support government in all areas that will promote good governance at all levels and all facets of the Nigerian society as long as it sustains its commitment to delivering people-driven governance that will promote decency and growth in all spheres of our socio economic and political endeavour.

“But we will not support the plan by the Federal Government to borrow more money from anywhere as we obviously have enough to attend to our immediate needs.

“For instance, if the government vigorously pursues those in possession of our collective wealth, especially multinationals who have refused to remit funds meant for corporate Nigeria, we would have enough to rejuvenate the economy and the quality of the lives of our people.

“NEITI has already been quoted to have discovered that $22 billion (twenty-two billion dollars) has not been remitted by multinational firms to the federation account. This amount alone can take care of some of the areas any new loan is expected to be expended on.

“If we must borrow, perhaps such borrowings, on terms strictly not against our collective interests and in particular not designed to deepen our debt burden, it should be directed towards revitalising rail transportation and roads and not for servicing remunerations or tastes of public office holders.

“Loans must have specific targets in public interest and strictly directed to their original uses; that is if we must take any at all.

“We are also opposed to the idea of giving public funds to bail out commercial banks or interests, especially the recent proposal to give out $7 billion as bailout funds to commercial banks without any repayment schedule whatsoever.

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“While we also support the need for budget reform, we urge the government to ensure that the process is all inclusive, transparent, accountable and in line with the principle of good governance.

“Once more, we urge government to be very careful with the process of economic reforms and development as it has become clearer around the world that neo-liberal prescriptions handed troubled economies have not been of any help but rather further unleashed mass poverty and infrastructural decay on recipient countries and their citizens.

“The prescriptions only generate massive wealth for the tiny few rich while devastating the quality of lives of the citizens.

“Indeed, a prominent report by Forbes has alarmed that ‘unless it changes, capitalism will starve humanity by 2050’.

“We should not be seen to be accepting alien economic recovery policies that have been proven to be responsible for our problems in the first instance, as all previous prescriptions from the Breton Woods institutions have only ended up destroying our economy and impoverishing our people.”

 

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