The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has accused the federal government of being on the path to dictatorship and impoverishing the people by increasing the pump price of petrol to N617 per litre. The NLC also announced its withdrawal from the various committees on fuel subsidy palliatives, saying they are a charade to deceive the poor masses.
In a statement signed by its president, Joe Ajaero, the NLC said it has restrained itself from taking any action against the government’s policies, but it appears that workers’ patience are being taken for granted. The NLC said it has no confidence in how the government arrived at the data of 12 million poor families that will receive N8000 each as palliatives, calling on Nigerians to reject it as it is most likely to go the way of the homegrown school feeding programme and the covid-19 palliative, which were more or less conduit pipes for corruption.
The NLC also condemned the decision of the Tinubu-led administration to seek the approval of the National Assembly to obtain another $6.18 billion loan, saying it will plunge the country into more debt and economic crisis. The NLC warned that the current government must watch clearly and observe that the impunity displayed by the immediate past government is not allowed to rear its ugly head, and that the workers are fully ready to stop any anti-people policy.
The NLC said it will resort to self-help and mobilize Nigerians for mass action if the government does not reverse the fuel price hike and address other issues affecting the welfare of the people. The NLC said it is not against deregulation, but it must be done in a transparent and accountable manner that will not further impoverish Nigerians.
