NLC Threatens FG over Fuel Scarcity
President of NLC, Mr. Abdulwahed Omar
Ejiofor Alike
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) yesterday warned that the labour movement would resist any attempt to further impoverish Nigerians with increase in fuel prices.
President of NLC, Mr. Abdulwahed Omar, who issued the threat notice in a statement obtained by Emperor Newspaper in Abuja, also called for immediate intervention of the Federal Government to alleviate the sufferings of Nigerians.
“Since the last few weeks when scarcity of petroleum products at sale stations became noticeable, workers and the Nigerian people have experienced excruciating hardship and trauma with incoherent excuses from marketers and ostensible helplessness from the Federal government as well as relevant agencies responsible to rectify the deplorable situation,” he said.
Omar said the scarcity of the product and long hours at fuel stations in queues had clearly slowed down productivity and its attendant effect on service delivery and production within the economy.
“While importers claim the unnecessary delay in obtaining import approvals from the Federal Government, which enables them import the products early enough to meet up with public demands, is the cause of the scarcity; the NNPC insists the products are available, but the marketers are hoarding products to deliberately increase prices,” he added.
Omar said the recent announcement by the NNPC that it had supplied 50 million litres of fuel to marketers and intensified its monitoring exercise to check hoarding of the product had not ameliorated, but heightened the sufferings of Nigerians.
He said the prices had continued to skyrocket with a litre of fuel selling between N500 – N800 in the parallel market.
“Assurances by the NNPC notwithstanding, the tirade and buck passing between the corporation and marketers indicate an attempt to deliberately inflict hardship on Nigerians so as to accept increase in fuel prices,” he added.
He cautioned that the Labour Movement will resist any attempt to further impoverish the working people with increase in fuel prices.
“It is bad enough that our country has to be importing products it produces, and scandalous that government has not been able to fix the rots in the petroleum industry despite promises publicly made by successive governments between 1999 and now,” he said.
According to him, the government can do better by immediately bringing supplies of these products to its normal status because the economy may be halted soon should the scarcity continue.
“Nigerians can only hold the Federal Government responsible for the scarcity and not the marketers. We didn’t elect marketers to govern us. Government must take full responsibility for the scarcity and take decisive steps to restore normalcy urgently,” he concluded.
Ejiofor Alike
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) yesterday warned that the labour movement would resist any attempt to further impoverish Nigerians with increase in fuel prices.
President of NLC, Mr. Abdulwahed Omar, who issued the threat notice in a statement obtained by Emperor Newspaper in Abuja, also called for immediate intervention of the Federal Government to alleviate the sufferings of Nigerians.
“Since the last few weeks when scarcity of petroleum products at sale stations became noticeable, workers and the Nigerian people have experienced excruciating hardship and trauma with incoherent excuses from marketers and ostensible helplessness from the Federal government as well as relevant agencies responsible to rectify the deplorable situation,” he said.
Omar said the scarcity of the product and long hours at fuel stations in queues had clearly slowed down productivity and its attendant effect on service delivery and production within the economy.
“While importers claim the unnecessary delay in obtaining import approvals from the Federal Government, which enables them import the products early enough to meet up with public demands, is the cause of the scarcity; the NNPC insists the products are available, but the marketers are hoarding products to deliberately increase prices,” he added.
Omar said the recent announcement by the NNPC that it had supplied 50 million litres of fuel to marketers and intensified its monitoring exercise to check hoarding of the product had not ameliorated, but heightened the sufferings of Nigerians.
He said the prices had continued to skyrocket with a litre of fuel selling between N500 – N800 in the parallel market.
“Assurances by the NNPC notwithstanding, the tirade and buck passing between the corporation and marketers indicate an attempt to deliberately inflict hardship on Nigerians so as to accept increase in fuel prices,” he added.
He cautioned that the Labour Movement will resist any attempt to further impoverish the working people with increase in fuel prices.
“It is bad enough that our country has to be importing products it produces, and scandalous that government has not been able to fix the rots in the petroleum industry despite promises publicly made by successive governments between 1999 and now,” he said.
According to him, the government can do better by immediately bringing supplies of these products to its normal status because the economy may be halted soon should the scarcity continue.
“Nigerians can only hold the Federal Government responsible for the scarcity and not the marketers. We didn’t elect marketers to govern us. Government must take full responsibility for the scarcity and take decisive steps to restore normalcy urgently,” he concluded.
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