The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called on the federal government to reverse the recent petrol price hike.
On Wednesday, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited raised the price of petrol at its retail outlets.
In a statement, Joe Ajaero, the NLC president, expressed that the union is “dismayed” by the increase, especially given the current financial situation of Nigerians.
Ajaero pointed out that the new price hike has “grossly altered the calculation” of Nigerians, many of whom are still struggling to adjust to the current economic challenges.
“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,” the statement said.
“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 conclusion, the NLC urged the government to reverse the price hike, noting that previous increases had not yielded any positive results and had only led to worsening poverty. Ajaero added, “the government should be bold enough to tell Nigerians in advance the destination it wants to take the country.”
