Fuel Price Hike: Nigerian Labour Congress Threatens Strike, Mass Protest

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The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has threatened to embark on a nationwide strike and mass protest in the event that the federal government increases the pump prices of petroleum products.

The threat followed the lingering fuel crisis in the country which the labour union described as a ploy by the federal government to increase pump prices of petroleum products.

It also threatened to picket fuel stations selling above official price if the necessary authorities that are expected to play a regulatory role fail to exercise their
powers.

“The January mass protests and strike will be a child’s play should government hide under the guise of the current scarcity to increase the pump price of petroleum products”, said the union in a statement it issued on Friday [Nov. 2] in Abuja.

The NLC will never accept any further price increase. And we will mobilise workers and their allies against any such increase. We urge the Federal Government to fulfil its responsibility to the Nigerian people by taking urgent steps to restore normal supplies.

“The poverty level in Nigeria has increased and nothing is being done by government to reverse our collective sufferings. The January mass protests and strike will be a child’s play should government hide under the guise of the current scarcity to increase the pump price of petroleum products. It is the responsibility of government to ensure and guarantee the welfare of every citizen”.

In a similar vein, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) yesterday accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led Federal Government of raising the price of petrol through the back door by creating an artificial scarcity that is now forcing Nigerians to pay more than the official price.

ACN, in a statement issued in Lagos on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, posited that the government’s anti-people policy of raising the price of petrol was rejected earlier this year; it has now resorted to underhand tactics to increase the price.

It said since the orchestrated scarcity started several months ago, Nigerians have been paying anything from N110 per litre in Lagos to as high as N130 and N140 per litre elsewhere in the country at many filling stations, and far higher than those prices at the black market.

“The Jonathan Administration has shown itself to be an expert in setting up committees after committees for one reason or the other in the oil sector. These committees have yet to make any appreciable impact in cleaning up the sector”, it said.