The president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, has called for an immediate reversal of the latest fuel price increase in the country.
Ajaero, in a statement on Tuesday, urged President Bola Tinubu to reverse the fuel price hike, noting that the increases initiated by the current administration since coming to power have not produced any positive result or impact on the citizens.
The NLC President also called out President Tinubu, noting that his government is becoming notorious for only fuel price increases without commensurate capacity of Nigerians or mitigatory measures.
He said the policies of the Tinubu government have only made Nigerians poorer.
Ajaero went further to question why the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) is the one fixing fuel prices in the country when the government has already declared that the sector has been deregulated and it is the interaction of market forces that would determine petrol prices in the country.
The statement titled “What next after increase in pump price?” reads, “We are dismayed by the latest increase in the pump price of petrol. It looks like the only thing this government is known for is the increase in the pump price of petrol without commensurate capacity of Nigerians or mitigatory measures.
“Even following the logic of market forces, we find it an aberration that a private company (NNPCL) is the one fixing prices and projecting itself as a hegemonic monopoly. We challenge the government to go to the drawing board and present us with a blueprint for inclusive economic growth and national development instead of this spasmodic ad hocism and palliative policy.
“It needs no stating the fact that the latest wave of increase has grossly altered the calculations of Nigerians once again at a time they were reluctantly coming to terms with their new realities. It will further deepen poverty as production capacities dip, and more jobs lost with multidimensional negative effects.
“In light of this, we urge the government to immediately reverse this rate hike as previous increases did not produce any good results. People only got poorer. But more fundamentally, the government should be bold enough to tell Nigerians in advance the destination it wants to take the country.”
