By Johnbosco Agbakwuru
ABUJA — The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has called on the government to approve wage awards for workers to cushion the impact of the high price of petroleum products, which it said has inflicted and deepened poverty among the populace.
It also told the government to expand national storage capacity in pursuance of meeting energy emergencies and security.
In a statement, titled “Save the Situation Now,” issued by its President, Joe Ajaero, the labour movement wondered why a government seeking re-election in the next few months could stand by and watch marketers inflict suffering on the citizenry in the name of deregulation.
It contended that there was nothing wrong with the government subsidising the needs of citizens, especially in emergency situations like this.
The statement read: “We are seriously concerned by the rising cost of the pump price of petrol across the country. In mega cities where petrol is readily available, the cost ranges from N1,430. In less accessible areas, the cost is much worse. This has inflicted incalculable damage not only on wages but also on our state of being as a people and as a nation.
“It is an established fact that when transportation costs go up, everything else follows, including school fees, rents, tariffs, foodstuff, etc.
“These new costs continue to inflict or deepen poverty among the populace, stressing the quality of life to the limits.
“This new surge has come at a time when the government’s pressure on marketers to reduce the pump price to reflect crude prices in the international spot market was beginning to yield dividends.
“Yet, even as this new wave of costs is caused by the resurgence of the conflict in the Gulf, our situation need not be this bleak.
“Coupled with the fact that we are an oil-producing country, we have sufficient local refining capacity, even as this substantially resides with the private sector.
“As a nation and as a people endowed with enormous fossil resources, we are deserving of a certain level of protection or buffer against the gales from the Gulf and, indeed, other gales.
“As part of the process of creating this buffer, we urge the government to immediately give reasonable wage awards to workers; sell sufficient crude in naira to our local refineries; and expand our national storage capacity in pursuance of meeting energy emergencies and security.
“These measures will create jobs and economic value, as well as deal with mutating security challenges.
“There is nothing wrong with the government subsidising the needs of citizens, especially in emergency situations like this.
“At the moment, there is no oil-producing country we know of that has not intervened or come up with sustainable palliatives in one way or another in these perilous times.
“These measures are all the more necessary and urgent because the government is making extra money in the international spot market, between USD35 and USD40 per barrel above the budgeted figure. This translates to trillions of naira a month. The government ought to be satisfied with this, as it is a windfall.’’
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