NLC to FG: Give Workers Wage Awards, Sell Crude to Refineries in Naira

ABUJA — The Nigeria Labour Congress has asked the Federal Government to urgently introduce wage awards for workers and sell crude oil to local refineries in naira as petrol prices continue to rise across the country.

The NLC also called for an expansion of Nigeria’s national petroleum storage capacity, saying the measure would strengthen the country’s ability to respond to energy emergencies and improve energy security.

The demands were made in a statement titled “Save the Situation Now,” signed by NLC President Joe Ajaero.

The labour union said the rising cost of petrol was worsening poverty and putting further pressure on the living conditions of Nigerians.

It expressed particular concern over petrol prices in different parts of the country, noting that prices in major cities had reached about N1,430 per litre, while consumers in less accessible locations were paying even more.

“We are seriously concerned by the rising cost of the pump price of petrol across the country. In mega cities where petrol is readily available, the cost ranges from N1,430. In less accessible areas, the cost is much worse,” the NLC said.

According to the organisation, the consequences extend beyond motorists because higher transport costs have a direct impact on virtually every aspect of household spending.

“It is an established fact that when transportation costs go up, everything else follows, including school fees, rents, tariffs, foodstuff, etc.”

The NLC said the latest increase was particularly troubling because it came after the government’s pressure on marketers to bring pump prices closer to international crude prices had reportedly begun yielding results.

It linked the latest surge partly to the renewed conflict in the Gulf but maintained that Nigeria should be better positioned to absorb such external shocks because it is an oil-producing nation with domestic refining capacity.

“Yet, even as this new wave of costs is caused by the resurgence of the conflict in the Gulf, our situation need not be this bleak,” it said.

The labour body said Nigeria’s substantial fossil fuel resources should provide a buffer for citizens during periods of international market instability.

“As a nation and as a people endowed with enormous fossil resources, we are deserving of a certain level of protection or buffer against the gales from the Gulf and, indeed, other gales.”

The NLC consequently urged the government to take three immediate steps: provide reasonable wage awards for workers, make sufficient crude available to domestic refineries in naira and increase national storage capacity.

“As part of the process of creating this buffer, we urge the government to immediately give reasonable wage awards to workers; sell sufficient crude in naira to our local refineries; and expand our national storage capacity in pursuance of meeting energy emergencies and security.”

The congress said implementing the measures would help create jobs and economic opportunities while also contributing to efforts to tackle emerging security challenges.

“These measures will create jobs and economic value, as well as deal with mutating security challenges,” it said.

The NLC also argued that government subsidies or other forms of intervention should not be dismissed during an emergency.

“There is nothing wrong with the government subsidising the needs of citizens, especially in emergency situations like this,” it said.

It added that other oil-producing countries had also adopted different forms of intervention and palliatives to protect their citizens from the effects of the current economic difficulties.

“At the moment, there is no oil-producing country we know of that has not intervened or come up with sustainable palliatives in one way or another in these perilous times.”

The labour organisation further pointed to the difference between prevailing international crude prices and the benchmark used in Nigeria’s budget.

According to the NLC, the government is currently earning between $35 and $40 more per barrel than the budgeted figure on the international spot market.

“This translates to trillions of naira a month. The government ought to be satisfied with this, as it is a windfall,” the statement said.

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