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From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
The National Executive Council (NEC) of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) rose from its regular meeting on Friday with a stern warning to the federal government to immediately perish the idea of a petrol price hike in 2022 or risk having the country literally shut down in mass protests.
The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr Mele Kyari said petrol may sell above N340/litre when the subsidy regime eventually comes to an end.
But speaking in a statement issued at the end of the December NEC meeting, the NLC President, Mr Ayuba Wabba said a further petrol price hike will spell doom for workers and the generality of the citizenry by exposing them to acute deprivation, hardship and suffering that would worsen the already established trend of hyper-inflation in the country;
Wabba advised the government to promote local capacity to refine petroleum products for domestic use.
“Pursuant to its rejection and resistance to further increase in the price of petrol, NLC to organize protest rallies in all the 36 States of the Federation on 27th January 2022, which would culminate in the submission of protest letters to all the 36 State Governors. Subsequently, a National Protest will take place on 1st February 2022 in Abuja; and
“In case the government decides to announce new petrol prices before the proposed protests, the protest will kick off instantly and without any further notice in every state of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory”, he explained.
The NLC President reckoned that as long as the pricing of refined petroleum products is based on importation pricing template, which is heavily dependent on a volatile foreign exchange rate heavily skewed against the naira, the price of petrol and other refined petroleum products will continue to rise beyond the reach of average Nigerian workers and citizens.
“The foregoing informed the traditional position of the Congress to reject incessant increase in the pump price of petrol which is usually disguised as deregulation or removal of fuel subsidy. The NEC, therefore, condemned plans by the Federal Government to increase the pump price of petrol”, he added.
On the worsening insecurity in Nigeria, the NLC President stated that the perilous state of insecurity apart from scaring away potential local and foreign investors from the Nigerian economy has also unleashed an unquantifiable social dislocation and crisis in the country including food insecurity, widespread hunger and mass destitution.
“The Federal Government should consider the recommendations and policy initiatives gleaned from the NLC National Summit on Peace and Security and National Roundtable on Social Protection Cover in developing a National Plan of Action against Insecurity in Nigeria. The Federal Government should adopt a multi-stakeholder approach and innovative non-kinetic intervention model towards a achieving a sustainable solution to the crises of insecurity in Nigeria.
“Plans for the privatization of Nigeria’s railways, public healthcare facilities and concession of Nigeria’s major international airports. The executive arm of government at the federal level and the National Assembly should work together with Organized Labour and manufacturers in the sub-sector for a win-win solution;
“That plans to privatize and concession prime national assets would be tantamount to ‘State Capture’ of the commonwealth. The NEC urged government and promoters of the privatization and concession plans to learn from the misadventure of the power sector privatization which instead of improving the lives of the ordinary Nigerian have increased the level of suffering and hardship faced by the Nigerian masses; and the concession of Nigeria’s four major airports and the privatization of Nigeria’s prime national assets including the Transmission Company of Nigeria and other assets billed through legislative actions for privatization”.
On electoral reform, Wabba called President Muhammadu Buhari to pass the 2021 Electoral Act Amendment Bill into law particularly given that he has less than two days to sign the bill into law; and to call for even broader and deeper electoral reform including the establishment of Electoral Offences Commission, the democratization of the appointment of the national leadership of the INEC, the adoption of Proportional Representation in our laws and Diaspora Voting”, he added.
