NLC vows to resist hike in petrol price
Ayorinde Oluokun/Abuja
Nigeria Labour Congress has warned the government against contemplating any increase in the price of petroleum products.
In a statement issued in reaction to scarcity of petrol across the country on Thursday the Union said it will resist any move to increase the price of fuel as it is being speculated that the ongoing scarcity of the product is because government wants Nigerians to pay more for it.
In the statement signed by Abdulwaheed Omar, the President of NLC, the union also asked the government to immediately find solution to the scarcity of petrol across the country and end the suffering of Nigerians who have had their socio-economic activities grounded as a result of non availability of the product.
The statement read
:
“Since the last few weeks when scarcity of petroleum products at sale
stations became noticeable, workers and the Nigerian people have
experienced excruciating hardship and trauma with incoherent excuses
from marketers and ostensible helplessness from the Federal government
as well as relevant agencies responsible to rectify the deplorable
situation.“The scarcity of the product and long hours at fuel
stations in queues have clearly slowed down productivity and its
attendant effect on service delivery and production within the economy.
“While importers claim the unnecessary delay in obtaining import approvals from the Federal Government, which enables them import the products early enough to meet up with public demands, is the cause of the scarcity; the NNPC insists the products are available, but the marketers are hoarding products to deliberately increase prices.
“The recent announcement by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation NNPC that it has supplied 50 million litres of fuel to marketers and intensified its monitoring exercise to check hoarding of the product has not ameliorated, but heightened the sufferings of Nigerians as prices have continued to skyrockets with a litre of fuel selling between N500 – N800 in the parallel market.
“Assurances by the NNPC notwithstanding, the tirade and buck passing between the corporation and marketers indicate an attempt to deliberately inflict hardship on Nigerians so as to accept increase in fuel prices.
“We hope this is not the case, as the Labour Movement will resist any attempt to further impoverish the working people with increase in fuel prices.
“It is bad enough that our country have to be importing products it produces, and
scandalous that government have not been able to fix the rot in the petroleum industry despite promises publicly made by successive governments between 1999 and now.
“We believe the government can do better by immediately bringing supplies of these products to its normal status because the economy may be halted soon should the scarcity continue.
“Nigerians can only hold the Federal Government responsible for the scarcity and not the marketers.
“We didn’t elect marketers to govern us. Government must take full responsibility for the scarcity and take decisive steps to restore normalcy urgently,” NLC concluded.
Nigeria Labour Congress has warned the government against contemplating any increase in the price of petroleum products.
In a statement issued in reaction to scarcity of petrol across the country on Thursday the Union said it will resist any move to increase the price of fuel as it is being speculated that the ongoing scarcity of the product is because government wants Nigerians to pay more for it.
In the statement signed by Abdulwaheed Omar, the President of NLC, the union also asked the government to immediately find solution to the scarcity of petrol across the country and end the suffering of Nigerians who have had their socio-economic activities grounded as a result of non availability of the product.
The statement read
Hawking petrol by roadside at exorbitant cost: result of scarcity
“While importers claim the unnecessary delay in obtaining import approvals from the Federal Government, which enables them import the products early enough to meet up with public demands, is the cause of the scarcity; the NNPC insists the products are available, but the marketers are hoarding products to deliberately increase prices.
“The recent announcement by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation NNPC that it has supplied 50 million litres of fuel to marketers and intensified its monitoring exercise to check hoarding of the product has not ameliorated, but heightened the sufferings of Nigerians as prices have continued to skyrockets with a litre of fuel selling between N500 – N800 in the parallel market.
“Assurances by the NNPC notwithstanding, the tirade and buck passing between the corporation and marketers indicate an attempt to deliberately inflict hardship on Nigerians so as to accept increase in fuel prices.
“We hope this is not the case, as the Labour Movement will resist any attempt to further impoverish the working people with increase in fuel prices.
“It is bad enough that our country have to be importing products it produces, and
scandalous that government have not been able to fix the rot in the petroleum industry despite promises publicly made by successive governments between 1999 and now.
“We believe the government can do better by immediately bringing supplies of these products to its normal status because the economy may be halted soon should the scarcity continue.
“Nigerians can only hold the Federal Government responsible for the scarcity and not the marketers.
“We didn’t elect marketers to govern us. Government must take full responsibility for the scarcity and take decisive steps to restore normalcy urgently,” NLC concluded.
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