Subsidy removal: Northern groups knock NLC over ‘slow reaction’

The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has knocked the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) over what it described as slow reaction to the removal of fuel subsidy by the federal government.

Daily Trust reports that the federal government had on Wednesday removed fuel subsidy and subsequently hiked the price of petroleum from N195 per litre to N540 per litre.

The spokesperson of the group, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, in a statement issued Thursday, said it observed that “The NLC always makes the public believe that they are protecting their interests, only to betray the course and negotiate with the government at the expense of the suffering masses.”

He said, “The first instance was the NLC protests over the harsh economic policies of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s government in February 2017 which came to an abrupt end without achieving any results and no convincing explanation to the public.

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“Then came the September 2018 strike, which was also terminated after the NLC met with government officials and compromised the effort with no effect.

“The worst scenario was the October 2020 organised labour plan to shut down the entire economy in protest over the increase in the pump price of petrol and a hike in electricity tariff.”

The group noted that the strike was called off at the last minute after a meeting between government officials and labour leaders in Abuja.

The group stressed that it took exception to the move by labour at that time, describing it as a huge trade-off and compromise in its letter dated October 6, 2021, to the former President of NLC, Ayuba Wabba, expressing disappointment in the labour leadership for deliberately suspending an action meant to check the arbitrary hike in fuel prices by the Buhari administration.

“Now that NLC wants to take the nation for granted once more, we demand that it should first of all explain its whereabouts at the time the budget was prepared, presented, defended by the government of the former President Muhammadu Buhari and passed by the 9th National Assembly without the provision for subsidy,” CNG added.