Petrol hike: NLC demands immediate reversal of "sudden" pump price, details emerge

1 month ago 3

Reports making the rounds on Wednesday disclosed that the NNPCL increased the price of fuel from N898 to over N1,030
This development did not sit well with the NLC as the labour union demanded the reversal of the "sudden" petrol price
NLC president Joe Ajaero lampooned the federal government led by president Tinubu and noted that it is illogical that a private firm is the one determining the prices of the products

Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.

The president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, has condemned the fuel pump price increase by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

Labour slam Tinubu over petrol price hike

He noted that a registered private company should not dictate fuel prices for Nigerians.

Ajaero also demanded an immediate reversal of the fresh fuel price hike, saying it is an aberration that the NNPCL is fixing fuel prices in a so-called deregulated sector.

Recall that the NNPCL raised the pump price of fuel. Reports show that petrol, which previously sold for N897 per litre in Abuja, now retails at N1,030 per litre.

This represents a 14.8% or N133 rise when compared to the pump price quoted as of September 2024.

The change in pump prices was observed at various NNPCL stations in Abuja.

Reacting to the development, the NLC urged the federal government led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately reverse the latest hike in petrol price, as previous increases did not produce any positive result.

In a statement by its president Ajaero, the NLC also called for collective action to protest the hike stating that, “Nigerians are expecting the labour movement to react to this hike. If we can get some naira or are unable to get it, only workers will benefit from that. What I think Nigerians should do is to mobilise and react as a collective”

“We have heard that Dangote Refinery is producing locally and prices are going up. All the indices they gave to us about the need to deregulate, have proven negative. You are fixing prices as a private company. As far as I’m concerned, except something has happened to CAC, NNPCL is now a private company. Can that same NNPCL dictate the price for Dangote and other private companies? Those are issues, those are questions begging for answers.“And all these discussions are hovering around the N70,000 minimum wage. What is the level of inflation between the time we signed the N70,000 minimum wage and now? Those are the issues that will bother us for the next few days in this country”, he said.

The Punch and The Guardian confirmed the development in its publication on Wednesday.