The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has condemned the recent increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, across the country.
In a statement signed by its president, Joe Ajaero, on Wednesday, the NLC demanded an immediate reversal of the price hike and criticized the government’s focus on raising fuel prices.
Ajaero also called on the government to clarify its plans for the future of the nation, while expressing disappointment with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) for its role in the price increase.
Read Also: Reason Why Fuel Price Increased To N1,030 Per Litre
“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 and more jobs are 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 results. 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.”
Earlier, several NNPC stations in Abuja increased the retail price of petrol from N897 to N1,030 per litre.
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