The Nigeria Labour Congress has declared the latest increase in the price of petrol as insensitivity against the masses.
The Deputy President of Nigeria Labour Congress Political Commission, Prof Theophilus Ndubuaku, who spoke on Sunday, said, labour, organised private sector and students would have been consulted first to deliberate on the course of action and analysis of the consequences before the decision would be taken.
He said, “This pump price hike will not only affect foodstuff and fare. There is the problem of inflation and the value of naira to contend with. Instead, what we are seeing is a situation we call Tinubunomics. It is something that has not been tested.
“When you talk about subsidies, is there a country that doesn’t have it? It’s all over the world. Even most of the goods you see in this country from China are subsidised. You are refusing to subsidise fuel and also refusing to even facilitate the so-called CNG buses. How many years does it take to do something like this?
“If you know the kind of game we (the NLC) and them are playing on this CNG thing. Now, they are not even involving the people in the so-called CNG conversion. If you promise to run an inclusive government, It’s not just you that should be doing the talking. Yet, when somebody talks, they send attack dogs to attack and label him a member of the Obidient movement.”
Ndubuaku told President Bola Tinubu to emulate former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who he claimed held a monthly roundtable with stakeholders whenever sensitive issues that have a lot to do with workers’ welfare were being discussed.
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and various depot owners on Friday raised the pump prices of petrol rose to between N1,050 and N1,150 per litre
Dealers confirmed that PMS prices would continue to rise since the major component in fuel production, crude oil, has been on the upward swing lately.
Justifying the increase, spokesperson of the Dangote Group, said the increase in its ex-depot price of petrol was directly related to the significant increase in global crude oil prices.
“At Dangote Petroleum Refinery, we recognise the critical importance of affordable fuel for all Nigerians, and we remain committed to offering the best value with guaranteed quality to our customers. While we have made a five per cent adjustment to our ex-depot price from N899.50 to N950 per litre, it is important to note that this increase is considerably lower than the 15 per cent rise in global crude oil prices. Furthermore, Dangote refinery has maintained the Single-Point Mooring ex-vessel price at N895 per litre.
The Dangote refinery said it has agreed with its partners – MRS, Ardova and Heyden – to sell its PMS at the rate of N970 per litre across the country.
The company said it absorbed the increased logistics costs to guarantee uniform pricing across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.
