As FG moves to reduce fuel price to reflect market conditions
Chineme Okafor and
Paul Obi in Abuja
The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) on Saturday said the planned removal of fuel subsidy was illegal and diversionary, adding that the congress will not take it lightly should the government go ahead with the plan billed to take off in January.
The Congress was reacting to the remarks by the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, who said government had resolved to scrap oil subsidy because of fraud around it.
The minister had said: “So for the first time people will understand that the pricing modulation I was talking about is not a gimmick. It is for real. The objective is that we cannot afford to continue to subsidize.We can’t even understand where those subsidies were going to. There is a lot of fraud elements in it so we need to cut that off. The second is that the earning capacity of the Federal Government is deteriorating by the day with lower prices of crude.”
Kachikwu, who is also the Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) also said a new fuel price regime that may see fuel sell for as low as N85 per litre would be announced next week to reflect the new market conditions.
But in his reaction to the planned removal of the petroleum subsidy, NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, in an interview with THISDAY, said the organised labour would hold the President accountable on his promise not to tinker with the subsidy arrangement.
He therefore declared the planned removal of fuel subsidy illegal and diversionary.
The NLC president said the decision by President Buhari led All Progressives Congress (APC) government to remove fuel subsidy did not fall within the purview of their campaign promises during the 2015 general elections.
“We will hold him (President Buhari) accountable on his campaign promises. If they were going to remove subsidy, that was not part of their campaign promises during the elections. President Buhari has promised Nigerians that he will not remove fuel subsidy – that is his promise, we will hold him to his words,” Wabba said.
NLC President said though the union had yet to receive the details, government’s decision to tinker with fuel subsidy was wrong-headed and illegal given that the processes required to effect the removal of the subsidy had not been complied with.
“The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) by law is supposed to regulate petroleum products prices and it is made up of a board of stakeholders. NLC is also part of the board

it is well

Trunaijian:
NLC got it twisted. Removal of subsidy is not a deliberate attempt by the Govt to make Nigerians suffer. Nigeria is paying too much for subsidy. We can use the money for other infrastructural projects ie Transport. Removal of subsidy is for the benefit of Nigerians pls. Sometimes I think the leadership of NLC aren't transparent and their call for strikes are not born out of genuine intention for the masses but rather of service for some cabals.

seunmsg:
Majority of Nigerians are in support of governments decision to remove subsidy. The subsidy regime is currently not sustainable as a result of the drastic decline in proceeds from crude oil. It has to go.
NLC and other organised labour union should dialogue with government and come up with how to reinvest the gains of the subsidy removal in building modern refineries. Importing refined petroleum product is a national embarrassment that must stop. All efforts now should be geared towards how to refine all our petroleum needs locally.

OreMI22:

kYjelly2:




Chai! Isn't this what GEJ tried to do? Like word for word?

Na wa for naija sha, we only agree that 2 + 2 equals 4, when it is "our person" that said it.

Soo disgusting

Won't it have been even better to remove subsidy when oil prices were high That way, all those huge savings could have been used to fast tract our development, i.e, more locomotives, high speed trains, roads, security, e.t.c

What really is the benefit of removing subsidy now and having petrol go from 87 naira to the proposed 85 naira? Abi, is it 2 naira per litre savings that the government will use to fund more infrastructure

What also happens if oil price rises again to around 80 dollars per barrel? Would cheap Nigerians, who like everything free, be able to pay a 130-160 naira official pump price?

What a pathetic assertion!!
As if sure p worked well during Jonathan regime.

Anywho, it is what it is, better late than never!