The communique issued issued at the end of the Nigerian Labour Congress meeting in Lagos :
The emergency Central Working Committee (CWC) Meeting of the Nigeria
Labour Congress (NLC) which held on Saturday, the 14th day of may in
Lagos after critically assessing the recent hike in the price of petrol
announced by the Junior Minister of Petroleum – Ibe Kachikwu under the
guise of deregulating the downstream sector of the Petroleum Industry
and understanding its implications for lives and living in Nigeria and
concluding that it is capable of putting in peril and further
exacerbating the crushing poverty that has already held the masses in
its thralls, observes as follows:
That the announcement by the junior minister of Petroleum – Ibe
Kachikwu Wednesday evening increasing the price of petrol by about
67.63% (N86.50/litre to N145/litre ) was a rude shock and can only be
described as callous and unfeeling. This is coming at the heels of the
recent assurances by the Minister that the Government is not in any way
planning to increase the price of petroleum products through the
convoluted subsidy regime.
That this Government is totally anti-masses and wired against the
poor. since assuming office; it has hiked electricity tariff by about
45% and went ahead to implement it despite court ruling to the contrary;
it has allowed the exchange rate to deteriorate to N365 to the US
Dollar; has introduced stamp duty on deposit in Banks and has pronounced
a 100% increase in VAT, has banned the importation of “I better pass my
neighbour” generators which serves mainly the poor. It has not done a
single thing for the poor.
That this Government has chosen to deceive her citizens. It chose not
to consult deeply with all stakeholders in the country before embarking
on such a far reaching decision that has deep and serious consequences
on the lives and living of the people of this nation especially when
there is already a stakeholder understanding on the pathway for the
Government to exit whatever subsidy still remains in the downstream
sector of the petroleum industry. We have set the conditions for full
deregulation of the sector which will allow the price of products to be
determined freely by market imperatives. We all agreed with the
Government that the pathway to this is for the refineries to come on
stream so that domestic consumption will be satisfied internally and
importation of products stopped completely. This we believe will allow
Nigerians pay a more realistic and reasonable price for the product and
assist the nation maintain most of its macro-economic variables in a
positive way.
That it is therefore irresponsible for this Government to
unilaterally hike the price of Petrol without considering the existing
understanding of industry stakeholders. We believe that it is disdainful
and totally contemptuous on the part of the Government against Nigerian
workers and peoples.
That the falsehood innate in this action can be seen in the mindless
subterfuge this Government employed in pushing Nigerians into this
ignoble cesspit. It is wrong for a Government to intentionally foist
suffering on the citizenry so as to create an environment where the
citizenry will be compelled Willy-nilly to accept whatsoever hike it
intends. It is evil for Government to create artificial scarcity of
petroleum products grinding the citizenry to the dust and extorting
N250/litre of PMS as gleefully acknowledged by the honourable Minister.
This is Machiavellian and a complete breach of trust. Nigerians are
truly being taken for a ride by those in Government.
That it is paradoxical that Government is talking about deregulation
yet, it is fixing prices. What exactly does it want to do or Has Ibe
Kachikwu become Market force? This is clearly an attempt to stabilise
and sustain the increased poverty which this Government has foisted on
the masses and workers of this nation.
That in its undue haste to satisfy the ever burgeoning appetite of
its economic wing, the Government chose an increase of N58.50 which is
N42.50 more than what it had earlier told Nigerians was the cost of
subsidy per litre of PMS. It is unconscionable for a Government that
ought to have the interest of the people at heart to now seek to grind
out a profit margin this huge from this same people according to its own
calculations.
That it is becoming clear whose interest Nigerian Government is
serving with this perfidy. It is now very clear on whose side this
Government stands. Every remaining doubts as to the direction this
Government is taking this nation has been erased from the minds of
Nigerian workers and masses. We have come to the conclusion that this
Government if allowed the opportunity may allow itself to be misled by
greedy and unconscionable individuals who have set up toll booths in
front of our petrol depots and receiving points to extract rent from
Nigerians. It has totally disconnected itself from the people.
That Nigerians should ask this simple question; why has the
Government found it very difficult to refurbish the existing refineries
and bring them to full capacity or build new refineries to make us
self-sufficient in petroleum products? Simple! It creates opportunities
for the ruling elite to continue extorting money from hapless citizens.
The Congress therefore decided that we reject this unholy hike in the
price of petrol but shall take active steps to ensure that whatsoever
philosophy or idea that must have propelled it is erased in the process.
We shall also ensure that this Government removes all supply
bottle-necks that makes product availability to the citizenry difficult.
To this end we resolve as follows:
That the federal Government reverses its illegal decision to hike the
pump price of PMS to N145/litre between now and Tuesday Midnight.
That the federal Government convokes a meeting of all the relevant
stakeholders if it is desirous of taking any action in the industry with
far reaching consequences on the citizenry
Government must engage the core stakeholders including the leadership
of the industrial Unions in the Oil and Gas sector and the NLC that
represents them.
That were Government fails to heed these calls and correct itself; we
shall be forced to call out Nigerian workers and masses out in the
streets of Nigeria to shut the critical sectors of this economy down as
long as it shall take to force this Government to subject itself to the
desires of the people.
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