The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called for the immediate reversal of the hike in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, in the country.
The National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and other marketers increased the petrol pump price at their retail outlets on Wednesday, October 9, 2024.
The petrol pump price at NNPCL stations in Lagos State was increased to N998 per litre, while other marketers were charging more.
Condemning the increase on Tuesday, the NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, said the federal government should be bold enough to tell Nigerians where it intends to take the country.
Ajaero lamented that the government keeps making Nigerians poorer despite the harsh economy which was already making it difficult for Nigerians to survive.
The NLC boss 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 increase in the pump price of petrol without commensurate capacity of Nigerians or mitigatory measures.
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“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, 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 result. 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.”
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