Chika Onuegbu, the Chairman of the Trade Union Congress, Rivers State chapter,on Tuesday urged the Federal Government to reduce the price of diesel to N70 per litre.
Onuegbu told the News Agency of Nigeria in Port Harcourt that the current price of N155 to N160 price of diesel per litre was hurting operations of small and medium size businesses in the country.
He said: “We commend government for reducing the pump price of petrol from N97 to N87.
“We commend them because it is a move in the right direction.
“But we will want to ask: why has this reduction not affected diesel?
“If diesel is truly deregulated as government has made us to believe, then we should be selling diesel in the Nigerian market at the actual rate that it should be selling at N70 per litre.”
Onuegbu said majority of small and medium scale businesses use diesel to power their plants.
He also said people in the haulage business used diesel to transport goods to different parts of the country.
He said: “Small industries or organisations that employ between 10 to 20 people, all use diesel and when you reduce the price of diesel, you reduce their cost of business and cost of production.
“It helps them support the economy, recruit more people and reduce employment in the country.”
According to Onuegbu, if the price of diesel is not reduced, the cost of haulage will not be reduced and it will affect those doing the business.