NLC Tasks Federal Government Over Skyrocketing Fuel Prices

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has warned that the current economic trajectory of the country is pushed beyond the limit of the average citizen, following a fresh spike in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).

In a strongly worded statement released on Sunday, NLC President Joe Ajaero lamented that petrol prices have now soared to between N1,170 and N1,300 per litre, a development he described as a “direct assault” on the Nigerian people.

Labour linked the current price hike to the military escalation in the Middle East involving the United States, Israel, and Iran. The union argued that while global powers are engaged in conflict abroad, the Nigerian working class is the one bearing the brunt through “bombardment of poverty and hunger.”

Ajaero criticized the government’s continued reliance on global market fluctuations to determine local prices, especially when domestic refineries remain dormant.

Citing projections from the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), the NLC pointed out that Nigeria is set to reap a massive N30 trillion windfall from the oil price surge caused by the Middle East crisis.

The union demanded that this “blood money” from global instability must be used to provide immediate relief for Nigerians rather than being allowed to “grow wings.”

“The about N30 trillion oil windfall must be invested in the Nigerian people. It must not disappear into private pockets while workers cannot afford to go to work,” the statement read.

To mitigate the impact of the price hike, the NLC has tabled a fresh set of demands for the President Bola Tinubu-led administration:

• Wage Award: An immediate cost of living allowance for all workers.
• Tax Relief: Urgent tax cuts for low-income earners struggling with inflation.
• Refinery Timeline: A definite date for the full operationalization of the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna public refineries.
• Social Safety Nets: Expansion of cash transfers to reach the truly vulnerable citizens.

The NLC further noted that even the privately-owned Dangote Refinery has adjusted its prices in line with global volatility, proving that private refining alone is not the solution to price stability.

“As long as we remain dependent on a market-driven pricing structure tied to global vicissitudes, we will remain hostages to wars and speculators,” Ajaero warned.

With food inflation galloping and transportation costs becoming a “noose” around the necks of workers, the Labour union urged the Federal Government to act before the situation spiraled out of control.