THE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has demanded of the federal government to revert to the old price template of petrol across the country or face nationwide general strike beginning from Wednesday next week.
The President of NLC, Comrade Joe Ajaero, announced the resolution after an emergency meeting of the NLC’s National Executive Council (NEC) which held in Abuja on Friday.
The NLC gave the government, particularly the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), up to Wednesday, June 7, 2023 to revert to the old price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise referred to as petrol.
According to Comrade Ajaero, failure of the federal government to meet the ultimatum would attract an indefinite protest across the country.
President Tinubu had said in his inaugural address on Monday, June 29, 2023 after being sworn in, that the era of subsidy payment on petrol has ended, adding that with the 2023 budget making no provision for fuel subsidy, further payment was no longer justifiable.
While vehicle queues had instantly resurfaced in petrol stations across major cities in the country following the president’s pronouncement, the government followed this on Wednesday with the NNPCL giving a directive with a new price template indicating that a litre of petrol would sell at retail points across the country from N480 to N557.
Dialogue between government and NLC-led organised labour ended in a deadlock on Wednesday night, with the NLC opting on calling on its organs to deliberate and decide on the next steps.
Details later…
