NLC Roars: Try Another Fuel Price Hike, We’ll Shut Down Nigeria Indefinitely!

As rumour of another hike in pump price of fuel became louder, and queues began to surface in some filling stations in Lagos, Monday, the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, has sent a stern warning to the Tinubu Administration: Try Another Fuel Price Hike, We’ll Shut Down Nigeria Indefinitely!

President of the Nigerian Labour Congress, Mr. Joe Ajaero, fired the warning during an address he delivered at the African Alliance of Trade Unions Executive Meeting in Abuja, on Monday, advising government not to test labour’s resolve.

Two quick hikes in the price of fuel have pushed most Nigerians harder as government removed subsidy on fuel, insisting it was a huge scam perpetrated by some fat cats. The result is that premium motor spirit, pms, or petrol is now dispensed at the pump at N617 per litre in Abuja, while it goes for N568 in Lagos.

But as the rumour of another hike rang louder, Monday, regardless of the ongoing negotiations with government, the NLC leadership threatened that it would embark on a nationwide indefinite strike should the Federal Government allow another increase.

“As we’re here now,” Ajaero alerted, “they are contemplating increasing the pump price of petroleum products. And the Ministry of Labour, for some time now, will only go to the Ministry of Justice to come up with a so-called injunction to hold the hands of labour not to respond.

“But let me say this, Nigerian workers will not give any notice if we have not addressed the consequences of the last two increases and we wake up from our sleep to hear that they have tampered with it again — the prices.”

However, in a tweet on its official Twitter handle, @nnpcl, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited said its pump price of fuel remains unchanged, and it did not intend to jerk it up any time soon.

The Abuja meeting was attended by Labour executives from Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, and South Africa.

The meeting deliberated on developments in Niger Republic, and advised  the leadership of the regional economic bloc, ECOWAS, to reconsider its plan to employ force to restore democratic order in the uranium-rich country.