The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) have<\/p>\n
given the federal government a three-day ultimatum to reverse its decision
\nto remove subsidy on petroleum motor spirit (PMS), which led to the
\nincrease in the pump price of the product to N145 per litre from N86.50
\nper litre, or the workers would shut down the whole country at the
\nexpiration of the ultimatum<\/p>\n
NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, Trade Union Congress (TUC) President,
\nComrade Bobboi Kaigama, who spoke yesterday at a press conference that
\nalso included Chairman of Labour and Civil Society Coalition (LACSCO), Dr.
\nDipo Fashina, insisted that the organised labour would make good their
\nthreat, should the government fail to reverse the pump price.
\nAccording Wabba, \u201cin the event government fails to accede to these demands
\non or before 12 midnight on Tuesday, May 17, 2016, the Nigeria Labour
\nCongress, the Trade Union Congress and their civil society allies resolve
\nto commence the following actions with effect from Wednesday, May 18,
\n2016: Mobilise to the streets across the country, ordinary and helpless
\nNigerians to whom they owe the duty of protection. Shut down all Banks,
\nSea and Airports, Government and private offices as well as Markets;
\nCommence indefinite nationwide strike action.<\/p>\n
\u201cFight and resist the machinations and cruelties of the neo-liberal forces
\nin the government as part of the process of saving the government from
\nitself and the generality of Nigerians from slavery.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the labour unions further forewarned Nigerians to prepare ahead of
\nthe planned strike by stockpiling foodstuffs and other items in order to
\nnot be caught unaware.<\/p>\n
\u201cNigerians are therefore advised to stock sufficient food items that will
\nlast for a while for the prosecution of the current struggle against
\nneo-liberal agenda in Nigeria.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wabba, who presented the position of labour stated that, \u201cthe emergency
\nmeeting debated extensively the implications of government\u2019s unilateral
\nincrease in prices of petroleum products, noting government\u2019s
\ndisinclination for consultation on issues of public interest and its
\nobsession with protecting product marketers at the expense of the Nigerian
\npublic.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe meeting expressed concern about government\u2019s neo-liberal policies
\nwhich it considered a betrayal of its electioneering promises and observed
\nas follows:<\/p>\n
During the electioneering campaign last year, the Presidential Candidate
\nof the All Progressives Congress (APC), Muhammadu Buhari, had promised
\nthat, if elected president, he would not remove fuel subsidy if there was
\nany at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter his election, President Muhammadu Buhari had maintained that there
\nwas no subsidy in the petroleum product price regime and that even if
\nthere was, he did not see how its removal would be beneficial to the
\nordinary Nigerian, noting that the slightest product price adjustment
\noften leads to inflationary spiral and unimaginable suffering for the
\npeople.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOn January 18, 2016, the government further allayed the fears of the
\nNigerian people by reducing the pump price of PMS to N86:50, explaining
\nthat the reduction was in furtherance of the implementation of the revised
\ncomponent of the Petroleum Products Pricing for PMS and kerosene,\u201d he
\nadded.<\/p>\n
Wabba was however disappointed that \u201cthe Minister of State for Petroleum
\nResources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, had been speaking from both sides of his
\nmouth.\u201d According to him, \u201cwhereas last year, he had strongly canvassed
\nfor the removal of \u201csubsidy\u201d in defiance of President Buhari, about a
\nmonth ago, he claimed the subsidy had been removed through his ingenuity
\nand that Nigeria was saving $1billion from this process.<\/p>\n
He said, \u201corganised labour wondered what has informed government\u2019s sudden
\nand dangerous policy summersault and its desperate attempt to convince the
\npublic that labour was part of the decision that led to this price
\nincrease.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn view of the fact that the board of the Petroleum Products Pricing
\nRegulatory Agency (PPPRA), which is statutorily vested with powers to
\nrecommend prices, has not been reconstituted, the price variation
\nannounced by any officer of the agency or outside the agency is not only
\nultra vires and illegal, it is a criminal imposition on the citizenry\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe price hike from N86:50 to N145, representing 67.63 per cent increase,
\nis the height of insensitivity and impunity as there was no previous
\nconsultation with stakeholders, especially the organised labour, or any
\njustification for this reckless decision other than the fact that
\ngovernment believes it is accountable to no one,\u201d he pointed out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) have given the federal government a three-day ultimatum to reverse its decision to remove subsidy on petroleum motor spirit (PMS),…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44647,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n