On Friday, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) announced that if the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNCPL) doesn’t change the new oil pricing regime by next Wednesday, it will launch a nationwide demonstration.
When speaking to the media about the decisions made during the NLC’s National Executive Council meeting on Friday in Abuja, President Joe Ajaero of the organisation revealed this.
In his inaugural speech on Monday at Eagle Square in Abuja, President Bola Tinubu proclaimed that the petroleum subsidy scheme will end because it was unsustainable.
“We applaud the outgoing administration’s decision to gradually phase out the petrol subsidy regime, progressively favouring the wealthy over the poor. In light of depleting resources, subsidies can no longer be justified by their rising costs, according to Mr. Tinubu.
After the news, the NNPCL on Wednesday instructed all of its shops to sell petrol for between N480 and N570 per litre, an increase of about 200 percent from the initial price below N200.
On Friday, Mr. Ajaero stated that the union is requesting a thorough inquiry into the subsidy procedure to identify the beneficiaries and the amount at stake.
According to him, all well-meaning Nigerians should not put up with attempts to minimise the problem of “fraudulent practises in the subsidy regime.”
He warned that the NLC’s leadership should exercise caution when haggling with those lacking portfolios.
It is instructive that such negotiations may only be valued once the government is correctly constituted, some people will negotiate with labour, and such people have the authority and capacity to commit to the government of the day.
Due to this, the NLC made the decision that if by Wednesday of next week, the NNPCL, a private limited liability company that illegally announced a price regime in the oil sector, does not reverse itself to allow for negotiation to continue, the NLC and all of its affiliates will withdraw their services and start protests nationwide until this is complied with.
“And that even as a private firm, the NNPCL lacks the monopoly to act improperly. In order to ensure that this action is carried out, the NLC NEC instructed all state councils and all industrial unions to start mobilising immediately, he stated.
Subsidy
More money was spent on fuel subsidies in Nigeria last year than on healthcare and education, which many experts claim is unsustainable.
This year, the outgoing Muhammadu Buhari administration only allocated budgetary funds for petrol subsidies through June 30 after declaring that it would leave final decision-making authority to the next administration.
But, if elected, Mr. Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar, and Peter Obi—the three front-runners in the February 25 presidential election—promised to end the gasoline subsidy.
However, others opposed to the elimination, like the NLC, contend that it would increase the cost of products and services and deepen the poverty of millions of people in a nation where over half of the population already experiences it.
