NLC Rejects Fuel Price Increase, Requests State Of emergency In Petroleum Sector

The Nigeria Labour Congress has condemned and rejected the recent increase in the pump price of petrol across the country, saying that the increase is against the spirit and content of what Organized Labour agreed with government at the last negotiations over the last fuel price increase.

The increase of fuel pump price to N170 per litre was directed by the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria following the increase in ex-depot price of Petrol from N147.67 to N155.17 per litre made by Petroleum Products Marketing Company.

The NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, in a press statement on Monday said that the recent increase in the pump price of the Premium Motor Spirit will exacerbate the level of pain and anguish in the country.

“The recent increase in the pump price has cast in very bad light our utmost good faith with regards to government explanations that it lacks funds to continue bankrolling the so-called subsidy payments as such would sooner than later cripple the entire economy, throw the country into severe economic crisis and cause loss of jobs in millions.

“While we await the full recovery of our refineries as contained in our agreement with government, Nigerians cannot be made to bleed endlessly for the failures of successive government to properly manage our refineries.”

Wabba said that there is a limit to what the citizens can tolerate if the abysmal increases in the price of refined petroleum products and other essential goods and services continue.

He stressed on the need to declare a state of emergency in the downstream rehabilitation, petroleum sector, while the refineries undergo rehabilitation.

He said, “The government should enter into contract refining with refineries closer home to Nigeria. This will ensure that the cost of supplying of crude oil is negotiated away from prevailing international market rate so that the landing cost of refined petroleum products is significantly reduced.

“Government should also demonstrate the will to stamp out the smuggling of petroleum products out of Nigeria. We need to see big time petroleum smugglers arraigned in the court of law and made to pay for their crimes against the Nigerian people.”

The Congress also demanded that Nigerians should be carried along on the distribution of refined petroleum products, adding that information on the distribution of petroleum products to petrol stations should be advertised and made public knowledge.

“It should not be difficult to establish the average time it takes a petrol station to exhaust its supplies. There is already an established market trend which will help government fix the rot in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector.

“Second, we call on government to review the entire process of licensing for modular and bigger refineries. It is queer to depend on the enterprise of one man to fix Nigeria’s downstream petroleum subsector.

“Organized Labour will not accept a fait accompli of monopoly of Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector or the emergence of a cartel of Oligarchs whose end game is mass pauperization.

“Third, in line with our recent agreement with government, we will be receiving updates in the next few days from our unions in the petroleum sector which have been given the mandate to keep surveillance on government promise to overhaul our public refineries.

“We will also receive updates from our representatives in the electricity review committee. The updates we receive will determine whether the government has kept to its side of the bargain which is to take serious steps to recover and reposition our public refineries.”