Labour knocks FG over moves to hike fuel price again

The Organised Labour has criticised the federal government over its fresh move to increase petrol pump price following the rise of crude oil price above $60 per barrel in the international market.

Timipre Sylva, the minister of State for Petroleum Resources, on Tuesday at the official launch of Nigerian Upstream Cost Optimisation Programme, urged Nigerians to be ready to bear the pains of the proposed hike.

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The minister said with no provision of subsidy in the 2021 budget, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), cannot continue to bear the cost of under-recovery.

But reacting to the admonition in a telephone interview with Daily Trust, President of TUC, Quadri Olaleye, wondered why the government is always in rush to increase fuel price any time there is a rise of crude oil at the international market.

According to him, the government never for once deemed it fit to bring down the price of petrol when there is a fall in price of crude oil in the international market.

“Why is it that the government is always in a hurry to implement an increase any time crude oil price rises in the international market? Last time when the price went down in the market, Nigerian government didn’t reduce the price of PMS.

“Why are they now rushing to increase it? They need to be intelligent with it if they want more problems in this country. Besides, we are still expecting the report of the technical committee set up last time by February 22. So, why the rush?” Olaleye queried.

The union leader said the organised labour would not disclose its strategies on how to fight the government this time around if it tries to inflict more pains on Nigerians the way it had been doing through some of its anti-masses policies including increment of price of fuel.

Several calls to the mobile phones of President and Secretary of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Ayuba Wabba and Emmanuel Ugboaja respectively, were not answered neither did they respond to a text message from our correspondent.