By Ambrose Idongesit
The Nigeria Labour Congress has opposed the proposal for the increase in price of fuel from N162 per litre to N408 per litre by the Nigeria Governors Forum.
The congress has termed the recommendation by the 36 states governors for the increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit, locally called ‘Petrol’ as disturbing, annoying and outrageous due to the country’s present economic dilemma.
After its meeting in Abuja, the National Executive Committee of the NLC released a communiqué, stating that it has resolved to write officially to the Federal Government about the predicament and concerns of workers on the NGF’s proposal as well as its standpoint on the subject.
The NLC president, Aliyu Wabba and the acting General Secretary, Ismail Bello in a signed statement viewed the proposal by the Nigeria Governors Forum for a three hundred per cent increase in the price of petrol as the height of provocation, arbitrariness, detachment and insensitivity to the current economic realities in the country and the extreme hardship that Nigerians, especially workers are going through’’, reiterated that the congress is unflinching in its decision taken at their meeting, held on February 17, 2021, to reject further increase in the price of refined petroleum products.
The NEC also noted there is no ongoing negotiation with the government over the increase in fuel price, recalling that the last meeting held on February was adjourned indefinitely, since which there has been no further meetings.
The NEC re-echoed that the only viable way out of the crisis of fuel importation and associated dislocations in the downstream petroleum subsector was for the rehabilitation of all public refineries in the country and building of new ones by the government.
The NEC also threatened that any decision by the government to increase by even one cent the price of refined petroleum products, especially PMS will be met with an immediate extraction of services by Nigerian workers in all states of the country without any further notice.
In the meantime, the NEC called on the National Assembly to retain labour administration, National Minimum Wage, pension and industrial relations on the Exclusive Legislative List, during the ongoing 1999 Constitution review.
The suspended industrial action and protests in Kaduna over the sacking of 45,000 workers by the state government was described as successful by the NEC, during the meeting.
It reckoned that it was open to engage the Kaduna State Government in an amiable resolution to the current situation in a manner consistent with the law.
