The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called on the Federal Government to consider options to help the country embrace developmental governance and accountable leadership, while rejecting the planned petroleum price increase.
NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, made the call in a statement he issued to newsmen in Abuja, entitled: ”Nigerian workers refused to take the bait’’.
According to him, the Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Malam Mele Kyari, announced that petrol could cost as much as N340 from February 2022.
Wabba described as “comical“ the bait by the government to pay 40 million Nigerians N5,000 as palliative, to cushion the effect of astronomical increase in the price of petrol.
He said that the total amount involved what he called “queer initiative“ was far more than the money government claimed to spend currently on fuel subsidy.
“The NNPC GMD stated that the price increase would be the result of the Federal Government’s plans to remove the subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit, also known as petrol or fuel.”
“The NNPC GMD’s grand optimism was based on claims that the removal of fuel subsidies is now backed by an act of parliament, most likely the Petroleum Industry Act, which was recently signed into law,” he said.
Wabba pointed out that the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, echoed the same sentiments on Tuesday at the launch of the World Bank’s Nigeria Development Update (NDU).
He went on to say that the minister announced the government’s intention to give N5000 to each of the 40 million poorest Nigerians as a transportation grant to offset the impact of the planned removal of the fuel subsidy.
Wabba stated that the disclosures by the NNPC GMD and the Minister were in sync with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) positions, which urged the Federal Government to discontinue fuel subsidies.
“The NLC’s response is that what we are hearing is the Federal government’s conversation with neoliberal international monetary institutions.”
“The dialogue between the government and the people of Nigeria, particularly workers, under the auspices of the trade union movement on the issue of fuel subsidy was postponed sine die many months ago.”
“Given the nationwide panic that has followed the disclosure of the monologue within the corridors of government and foreign interests, the NLC wishes to maintain its rejection of import-driven deregulation.”
“We wish to reiterate our conviction that the only benefit of deregulation based on an import-driven model is that Nigerian consumers will continue to pay exorbitant prices for refined petroleum products in perpetuity.”
“This situation will undoubtedly be exacerbated by the astronomical depreciation of the naira, which is currently trading at N560 to one US dollar in the parallel market,” he said.
Any attempt to compare the price of petrol in Nigeria to other countries, according to the NLC president, would be based on a faulty premise, as it would be akin to comparing apples and mangoes.
Wabba stated that the government’s plan to raise the price of gasoline by more than 200 percent was a perfect recipe for an escalating pile of hyperinflation and astronomical increases in the price of goods and services.
According to him, this will open the door to a wide range of social consequences, including the degeneration of the current insecurity crises.
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