Comrade Joe Ajaero, the president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has said that it is an aberration that a private company is responsible for fixing price of petrol in Nigeria.
Ajaero who was reacting to the latest increase in the pump price of fuel in the country from N926 to N1030 by the NNPCL.
According to the labour leader, “It looks like the only thing this government is known for is the increase in the pump price of petrol without commensurate capacity of Nigerians or mitigatory measures.
“Even following the logic of market forces, we find it an aberration that a private company (NNPCL) is the one fixing prices and projecting itself as a hegemonic monopoly.”
The NLC boss decried the seeming confusion in the petroleum sector in Nigeria saying that the government must show a clear-cut action plan to avoid the uncertainty in the sector.
He said that the government must “present us with a blueprint for inclusive economic growth and national development instead of this spasmodic ad hocism and palliative policy.”
Lamenting the chock and dislocation the unpredictable price increases would have on Nigerians, Ajaere maintained that, “It will further deepen poverty as production capacities dip, more jobs lost with multidimensional negative effects.
“In light of this, we urge the government to immediately reverse this rate hike as previous increases did not produce any good results. People only got poorer.
“But more fundamentally, the government should be bold enough to tell Nigerians in advance the destination it wants to take the country.”