The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has demanded an immediate reversal of the fresh fuel price hike, saying Nigerians are getting poorer daily.
This medium earlier reported that NNPCL announced a fresh increase in the price of fuel on Wednesday from N898 to over N1030.
Reacting to the development, the President of NLC, Joe Ajaero, wondered why the federal government continued to jack up the price of virtually every month even when the minimum wage was yet to be implemented.
In a statement titled “What next after increase in pump price?” Ajaero said the NLC contended that following the logic of market forces, it is an aberration that a private company (NNPCL) is the one fixing prices and projecting itself as a hegemonic monopoly.
He said; “We are dismayed by the latest increase in the pump price of petrol. It looks like the only thing this government is known for is the increase in the pump price of petrol without commensurate capacity of Nigerians or mitigatory measures.
“Even following the logic of market forces, we find it an aberration that a private company (NNPCL) is the one fixing prices and projecting itself as a hegemonic monopoly.
“We challenge the government to go to the drawing board and present us with a blueprint for inclusive economic growth and national development instead of this spasmodic ad hocism and palliative policy.
“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. It will further deepen poverty as production capacities dip, and more jobs lost with multidimensional negative effects.
“In light of this, we urge the government to immediately reverse this rate hike as previous increases did not produce any good results. People only got poorer. But more fundamentally, the government should be bold enough to tell Nigerians in advance the destination it wants to take the country.”
