NLC Raises Concerns Over Hike In Price Of Petrol, Says, It Will Worsen Poverty
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has expressed dismay over the latest increase in the pump price of petrol without by the Federal Government without commensurate capacity of Nigerians or mitigatory measures.
The NLC particularly expressed concerns over the logic of market forces being adopted, stressing that it finds it an aberration that a private company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) is the organization fixing prices of petroleum products and projecting itself as a hegemonic monopoly.
The umbrella organization of labour Unions in the country, therefore challenged the federal government to go to the drawing board and present to Nigerians a blueprint for an inclusive economic growth and national development instead of the spasmodic ad hocism and palliative policy.
These were contained in a statement on Wednesday evening by Comrade Joe Ajaero, President of the NLC, titled; “What next after increase in pump price?” in which he also said that 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.
The NLC President said that the latest increase in the pump price of petrol will further deepen poverty as production capacities dip.
The Congress stressed that the increase would lead to more jobs lost with multidimensional negative effects, and therefore, demanded its immediate reversal.
The NLC President specifically said that previous increases had not produced any good result, rather, people only got poorer.
The NNPCL on Wednesday, October 9, 2024 raised the pump price of petrol from N897 to N1,030 per litre indicating an increase of 14.8 per cent across all of its retail outlets in the Nation’s capital, Abuja.
Similarly, the NNPCL had in September this year, increased the price of petrol per litre from N615 to N897.