The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called on the Federal Government to take immediate steps to cushion the impact of rising petrol prices across the country.
NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, made the call in a press statement issued on Wednesday, titled “Save The Situation Now”.
Ajaero said petrol now sells for about N1,430 per litre in major urban centres where it is readily available, while prices are higher in less accessible areas.
He said the increase had affected wages and worsened living conditions across the country.
“It is an established fact that when transportation costs go up, everything else follows, including school fees, rents, tariffs, food stuff, etc,” Ajaero said.
According to him, the latest price surge has deepened poverty and placed additional pressure on the quality of life of Nigerians.
He attributed the latest increase to the resurgence of conflict in the Gulf but argued that Nigeria, as an oil-producing country with local refining capacity, should have some protection against external shocks.
“As a nation, and as a people endowed with enormous fossil resources, we are deserving of a certain level of protection or buffer against the gales from the Gulf, and indeed, other gales,” he said.
Ajaero called on the government to immediately provide reasonable wage awards for workers, sell sufficient crude oil in naira to local refineries and expand national storage capacity to address energy emergencies.
He said the measures would also create jobs, generate economic value and help address security challenges.
The NLC president also backed government intervention to cushion the impact of the petrol price increases.
“There is nothing wrong with government subsidising the needs of citizens, especially in emergency situations like this,” he said.
Ajaero further said the government was receiving additional revenue from international crude prices, which he estimated at between $35 and $40 per barrel above the budgeted figure.
“Government ought to be satisfied with this as it is a windfall,” he said.
On local refining, Ajaero criticised the continued importation of crude by Nigerian refineries, describing the practice as inconsistent with the purpose of developing domestic refining capacity.
“On a long term basis, we are equally concerned that local refineries are importing crude. This is unreasonable and unacceptable and defeats the logic and purpose of local capacity,” he said.
Ajaero said the labour movement would continue to speak out as petrol prices rise, particularly with the government seeking re-election in the coming months.
“We are of the view that a government that seeks re-election in the next few months cannot afford to stand and watch marketers inflict suffering on the citizenry in the name of deregulation,” he said.
“Labour has an obligation to speak out or act accordingly.”
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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