NLC Demands Urgent Measures As Petrol Prices Soar

Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has asked the federal government to urgently introduce measures to cushion the impact of rising petrol prices on Nigerians.

The congress canvassed among others, wage awards, naira-priced crude for local refineries and increased national fuel storage capacity.

NLC president, Comrade Joe Ajaero, made the demands in a statement titled, “Save The Situation Now,” warning that the latest surge in petrol prices was deepening poverty and eroding the purchasing power of workers and households.

Ajaero said petrol was selling for as much as N1,430 per litre in major cities where the product was readily available, while prices were significantly higher in less accessible locations.

He said the development would have a wider impact on the economy because higher transportation costs would translate into higher prices for food, school fees, rents and tariffs.

The NLC president said the latest price increase had occurred despite earlier government pressure on marketers to reduce pump prices in line with declining crude oil prices in the international spot market.
Although he linked the new surge to the resurgence of conflict in the Gulf, Ajaero said Nigeria’s status as an oil-producing nation and its available refining capacity should provide a buffer against external shocks.

He, therefore, called for immediate wage awards for workers, sufficient crude allocation to local refineries in naira and expansion of the country’s petroleum storage capacity to strengthen energy security and prepare for emergencies.

According to him, the measures would also support job creation, generate economic value, and help address emerging security challenges.

Ajaero said government intervention to protect citizens from the crisis’s impact should not be regarded as inappropriate, arguing that emergency support was necessary when households were facing severe economic pressure.

He said, “We are seriously concerned by the rising cost of the pump price of petrol across the country. In mega urban cities where petrol is readily available, the cost ranges from N1,430.

In less accessible areas, the cost is much worse. This has inflicted incalculable damage to not only wages but our state of being as a people and as a nation”.

“As part of the process of creating this buffer, we urge the government to immediately give reasonable wage awards to workers; sell sufficient crude in Naira to our local refineries; expand our national storage capacity in pursuance of meeting energy emergencies and security. These measures will create jobs and economic value and address evolving security challenges.

There is nothing wrong with the government subsidising citizens’ needs, especially in emergency situations like this. At the moment, there is no oil-producing country we know of that has not intervened or come up with sustainable palliatives in one way or another in these perilous times

These measures are all the more necessary and urgent because the government is earning extra revenue in the international spot market (between USD 35 and 40 per barrel above the budgeted figure). This translates to trillions of Naira a month”.

The NLC president described the additional revenue as a windfall and urged the government to deploy part of it to shield Nigerians from the impact of higher energy costs.

Ajaero also criticised the continued importation of crude by local refineries, describing the practice as unreasonable and contrary to the objective of developing domestic refining capacity.

He warned that the government could not afford to stand by while marketers imposed additional hardship on Nigerians in the name of deregulation, particularly as the country approaches the 2027 general elections.

“We are of the view that a government that seeks re-election in the next few months cannot afford to stand and watch marketers inflict suffering on the citizenry in the name of deregulation. Labour has an obligation to speak out or act accordingly,” he added.