The National Labour Congress (NLC) has insisted on calling a strike since it believes that this is the only option to persuade the Federal Government to reconsider its attitude on the withdrawal of fuel subsidy.
Former NLC vice president Amaechi Asugwuni stated on Channels Television Sunrise Daily on Monday that there is no turning back on the proposed strike date of June 7, 2023.
Asugwuni claimed that this is the only way out for Nigerians, while also saying that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s new administration has not managed the subsidy withdrawal process properly.
“Strike is inevitable because people know that the Nigerian government is paying subsidy because it is not refining itself,” Asugwuni said.
The labour relations consultant noted that Nigerians know a lot about the process of relief removal and expect the government to have a running refinery to carry out the removal.
“So, doing away with subsidy without refining after 30 years or more suggests incompetence,” he added.
“Anything above the current price without a concrete plan for refineries to kickstart would make the country ‘unwise’ before the world.”
According to Asugwuni, it is illegal for Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to increase the price of its products, adding that there are forces beyond the control of the organisation.
“The lawyers have said it is illegal, and therefore NNPC, even though it was legal to do so, I think forces in the market are beyond NNPC,” he explained.
“Because when you allow market forces to determine market prices, you, therefore, cannot have a permanent price template; otherwise, it would look as if the relief is still working with some people, especially the NNPC,” he stated.
The labour consultant lamented that the impact the removal of subsidy will have on the minimum wage is an economic challenge to the living standards of Nigerians.
According to him, the subsidy effects have yet to permeate the market evenly.
Recall that Tinubu, in his inaugural speech at the Eagle Square in Abuja last Monday after he was sworn in as Nigeria’s 16th President, said the era of subsidy payments on fuel has ended.
The removal of subsidy following the president’s announcement has led to panic buying and arbitrary hoarding of the products that marketers introduced.
Some political bigwigs feel that Tinubu made the decision in haste, leading to people being stranded on Nigerian roads with transportation fares increasing abnormally.
