We Will Never Allow FG Increase Fuel Price- NLC

Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC has vowed to resist any
increase in the price of petroleum products by the Federal Government has been
speculated. They said they totally kick against it and implore the Government
to do something fats about the scarcity of petrol across the country. Read the
press statement they sent out after the cut.

Since the last few weeks when scarcity of petroleum products
at sale stations became noticeable, workers and the Nigerian people have
experienced excruciating hardship and trauma with incoherent excuses from
marketers and ostensible helplessness from the Federal government as well as
relevant agencies responsible to rectify the deplorable situation.

“The scarcity of the product and long hours at fuel stations
in queues have clearly slowed down productivity and its attendant effect on
service delivery and production within the economy.

“While importers claim the unnecessary delay in obtaining
import approvals from the Federal Government, which enables them import the
products early enough to meet up with public demands, is the cause of the
scarcity; the NNPC insists the products are available, but the marketers are
hoarding products to deliberately increase prices.

“The recent announcement by the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation NNPC that it has supplied 50 million litres of fuel to marketers and
intensified its monitoring exercise to check hoarding of the product has not
ameliorated, but heightened the sufferings of Nigerians as prices have
continued to skyrockets with a litre of fuel selling between N500 – N800 in the
parallel market.

“Assurances by the NNPC notwithstanding, the tirade and buck
passing between the corporation and marketers indicate an attempt to
deliberately inflict hardship on Nigerians so as to accept increase in fuel
prices.

“We hope this is not the case, as the Labour Movement will
resist any attempt to further impoverish the working people with increase in
fuel prices.

“It is bad enough that our country have to be importing
products it produces, and scandalous that government have not been able to fix
the rot in the petroleum industry despite promises publicly made by successive
governments between 1999 and now.

“We believe the government can do better by immediately
bringing supplies of these products to its normal status because the economy
may be halted soon should the scarcity continue.

“Nigerians can only hold the Federal Government responsible
for the scarcity and not the marketers.

“We didn’t elect marketers to govern us. Government must
take full responsibility for the scarcity and take decisive steps to restore
normalcy urgently.