The Nigeria Labour Congress has rejected the increase in price of Premium Motor Spirit, also known as petrol, from N148.50 per liter to N151.56 per litre.
Ayuba Wabba, NLC President, revealed the position of Labour to the News Agency of Nigeria, while reacting to the increase in the price of petrol on Wednesday in Abuja.
NAN reports that the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company, a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, in a statement had announced the new product price adjustment, which takes effect from September 2.
It would be recalled on August 5, the price of petrol was increase from N143.50 to N148.50 per liter.
Some filling stations in Abuja have already started selling petrol for N161 per litre as at 5pm on Wednesday.
According to Wabba, Nigerians and even the NLC are shocked about the increase and that it was coming at a time when many Nigerians are passing through very peculiar and precarious times.
He said: “It is like Nigerians are being taken for a ride.
“The increase in price of petroleum is like adding salt to injury.
“The increase in price of petroleum has happened now more than three times in three months.
“Only yesterday they hiked the tariff of electricity.”
The NLC president said to compound the issue, the Central Bank of Nigeria also reduced the interest rate of savings, which affects mostly the poor and the vulnerable.
Wabba said: “The organised labour therefore rejects the increase in price of the product in the strongest terms.”
According to him: “At the end of the day, Nigerians are becoming poorer and poorer.
“In fact, many people are already on the edge.
“Many workers are already on the edged.
“Certainly, we cannot guarantee industrial peace and harmony, and we will have to call our organs and we will have to also react, but we reject it in its entirety.
“They have betrayed the trust of Nigerians.
“For Nigerians to be protected against the economic challenge that is affecting us.”
Also reacting, Prof. Uche Uwaleke, Professor of Finance and Capital Market, Nasarawa State University, told NAN that the new price of will heighten inflationary pressure in the country.
Uwaleke said: “This is clearly a downside risk to inflation.
“In the coming months, I expect inflationary pressure to heighten as crude oil price recovery in the international market necessitates a hike in domestic pump price of imported fuel.
“This situation will be compounded by naira devaluation.”
he said.
Uwaleke, also a former Imo State Commissioner for Finance, said to save the situation, the alternative would have been petrol subsidy.
According to him, government cannot afford it now as it did not provide for it in the 2020 budget.
He said: “Again, expecting a government already saddled with huge debt to borrow to subsidise price of petrol does not make economic sense.
“With all the economic headwinds, there is no question about a spike in cost of living in the coming months.”
He noted that the only solution was for government to ensure the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill.
“The solution remains passing the Petroleum Industry Bill into law to pave way for investors in the oil refining sector which will put a stop to import of petroleum products well before Dangote refinery takes off to fill the gap,” he said.
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