The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) warned the federal government that plans to end fuel subsidies in 2022 would be met with nationwide protests.
The congress stated that if the FG announces new fuel prices before its scheduled warning rallies in all states of the federation in January, the protests will begin without warning.
These were some of the resolutions passed at the NLC’s National Executive Council meeting held at the Labour House in Abuja.
Following the advice of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, the FG stated that the fuel subsidy would be phased out next year.
In its place, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, stated that approximately 40 million poor Nigerians would be paid a monthly stipend of N5,000 for transportation.
According to a joint communiqué signed by NLC President Ayuba Wabba and General Secretary Emma Ugboaja, warning rallies against the planned fuel subsidy removal are scheduled for January 27, 2022, in all states, “and would culminate in the submission of protest letters to all 36 state governors.”
The NLC also announced that a warning rally would be held in Abuja on February 1.
The NLC argued that fuel subsidies would subject Nigerian workers and the general public to acute deprivation, hardship, and suffering, worsening the country’s already established trend of hyperinflation.
It attributed the crisis in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sub-sector, particularly in relation to the petrol pump price regime, to the policy of importation based on a pricing template for refined petroleum products rather than a pricing template based on local production.
According to the union, the price of petrol and other refined petroleum products will continue to rise beyond the reach of ordinary Nigerian workers and citizens as long as refined petroleum product pricing is based on an importation pricing template, which is heavily dependent on a volatile foreign exchange rate that is heavily skewed against the Naira.
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This, it was noted, informed Congress’s traditional position of opposing an incessant increase in the price of gasoline at the pump, which is usually disguised as deregulation or the removal of fuel subsidies.
According to the communique, “the NEC, therefore, resolved to reject and resist the Federal Government’s planned increase in the pump price of gasoline.”
“That government should encourage the development of local capacity for the refining of petroleum products for domestic consumption.”
The NLC also condemned the trend of hyperinflation in the prices of basic goods and services, particularly essential commodities such as cooking gas and building materials like cement.
The communiqué urged the government to implement effective economic policies to halt the inflationary trend, which puts additional strain on the meager incomes of Nigerian workers and other citizens and “has made life terribly unbearable for our country’s poor masses.”
The NLC lamented that Nigeria’s insecurity crisis had worsened since the last NEC meeting.
The union also urged President Muhammadu Buhari to sign into law the 2021 Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
