The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has threatened that its members will launch a nationwide strike action without giving any formal notice if the Federal Government raises the fuel price again before concluding the ongoing negotiations and providing necessary palliatives.
This was declared on Monday by the NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, at the African Alliance of Trade Unions meeting in Abuja.
“As we’re here now, they’re contemplating increasing the pump price of petroleum products.
“But the Minister of Labor for some time now, will only go to the Minister of Justice to come up with an injunction to hold the hands of labour not to respond.
“They have started floating ideas of a likely increase in the price of petroleum products.
“But let me say this.
“Nigerian workers will not give any strike notice.
“If we have not addressed the consequences of the last two increases in fuel pump price, and we wake up from asleep to hear that they have tampered with the fuel pump price again,” Ajaero said.
Local media had earlier reported on Sunday that some oil marketers insist that if the naira keeps losing value against the dollar in the parallel market, petrol prices may soon skyrocket to between N680 and N720 per liter in the coming weeks.
The price of petrol in Nigeria has sparked a lot of debates and conflicts over the years.
President Tinubu, who took office on May 29, 2023, decided to scrap the fuel subsidy, which led to an increase in petrol price by about 8.3%, from 0.72 USD/Liter in June 2023 to 0.78 USD/Liter in July 2023.
This is the highest level ever reached in Nigeria’s history, breaking the previous record of 0.76 USD/Liter in January 2016.
The government has argued that removing the fuel subsidy is necessary for economic reasons, but many Nigerians have opposed it for social reasons.
The hike in petrol price has also caused protests and violence across the country, which have endangered peace and security.
The government has tried to calm the situation by engaging in dialogue and offering some relief measures, but it is unclear whether these will be enough to meet the needs and aspirations of Nigerians.