By Matthew Denis
Bearing 24hours to the announcement of fuel pump price increase to N1030 per liter, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has strongly condemned the recent increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, and has demanded the government reverse the hike immediately.
The labour union expressed frustration at what it sees as a pattern of the government focusing solely on raising fuel prices, which, according to them, continues to harm Nigerians.
The NLC’s criticism follows the announcement that petrol prices have risen in some Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) stations, with prices jumping from N897 per litre to N1,030 in parts of Abuja. This marks yet another significant spike in the cost of fuel in the country, further increasing the financial burden on citizens.
In a statement released on Wednesday by NLC President Joe Ajaero, the union accused the government and the NNPCL of ignoring the effects these price hikes have on the people.
The labour leader interrogated the role of the NNPCL, a private entity, in determining fuel prices, and suggested that this situation had turned the company into a monopoly.
The statement read, “Even following the logic of market forces, we find it an aberration that a private company (NNPCL) is the one fixing prices and projecting itself as a hegemonic monopoly. We challenge the government to go to the drawing board and present us with a blueprint for inclusive economic growth and national development instead of this spasmodic ad hocism and palliative policy.
“It needs no stating the fact that the latest wave of increase has grossly altered the calculations of Nigerians once again at a time they were reluctantly coming to terms with their new realities. It will further deepen poverty as production capacities dip and more jobs are lost with multidimensional negative effects.
“In light of this, we urge the government to immediately reverse this rate hike as previous increases did not produce any good results. People only got poorer. But more fundamentally, the government should be bold enough to tell Nigerians in advance the destination it wants to take the country.”