The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), apex pan-Yoruba sociocultural group, Afenifere and civil society organisations have tackled the Buhari administration over the planned removal of the petrol subsidy, which is expected to lead to price hikes. Labour, Afenifere and the CSOs in rejecting the increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), argued that the price increase would inflict more pain, anguish and despondency on an already impoverished populace.
Therefore, the NLC implored the federal government to consider options to help the country embrace developmental governance and accountable leadership. NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, made the call in a statement he issued to newsmen in Abuja, entitled: “Nigerian workers refused to take the bait.’’
According to him, the Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Malam Mele Kyari, announced that petrol could cost as much as N340 from February 2022. Wabba described as comical the bait by the government to pay 40 million Nigerians the sum of N5, 000 each as palliative, to cushion the effect of the astronomical increase in the price of petrol. He referred to the total amount involved as a queer initiative because it was far more than the money government claimed to spend on fuel subsidy annually.
“The NNPC GMD said that the price increase would be consequent on the plans by the federal government to remove subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit, also commonly referred to as petrol or fuel. “The grand optimism of the NNPC GMD was predicated on the claims that the removal of fuel subsidy is now backed by an act of parliament, probably the Petroleum Industry Act which was recently signed into law,’’ he said. Wabba noted that the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, reechoed the same on Tuesday, at the launch of the World Bank’s Nigeria Development Update (NDU). He added that the minister announced government’s plans to disburse N5, 000 each to 40 million poorest Nigerians as a transport grant to cushion the effects of the planned removal of fuel subsidy.
Wabba said the disclosures by NNPC GMD and the minister were in symphony with the positions of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which urged the federal government to do away with fuel subsidy. “The response of the NLC is that what we are hearing is the conversation of the federal government with neoliberal international monetary institutions. “The conversation between the government and the people of Nigeria, especially workers under the auspices of the trade union movement on the matter of fuel subsidy was adjourned sine die so many months ago.
“Given the nationwide panic that has trailed the disclosure of the monologue within the corridors of government and foreign interests, the NLC wishes to maintain its rejection of deregulation based on the import-driven model. “We wish to reiterate our persuasion that the only benefit of deregulation based on the import driven model is that Nigerian consumers will infinitely continue to pay high prices for refined petroleum products. “This situation will definitely be compounded by the astronomical devaluation of the naira which currently goes for N560 to one US dollar in the parallel market, ’’he said.