The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has asked the Federal Government to introduce emergency measures to cushion workers and households from the impact of rising petrol prices, including reasonable wage awards and the sale of crude oil to local refineries in naira.
The NLC made the demand on Wednesday as petrol prices rose to about ₦1,430 per litre in major cities, with prices reportedly higher in less accessible locations.
NLC President, Joe Ajaero, in a statement he personally signed, warned that the increase would further worsen the cost-of-living crisis, particularly through higher transport costs and their knock-on effects on food, rent, school fees and other essential goods and services.
The statement, titled “Save the Situation Now”, said the latest increase came despite efforts to pressure oil marketers to reduce pump prices following movements in international crude prices.
The NLC linked the latest surge to the resurgence of conflict in the Gulf but argued that Nigeria’s status as an oil-producing country should provide some protection from external shocks.
It said, “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 union urged the Federal Government to urgently introduce measures to protect households and businesses from the impact of higher petrol prices.
Among its demands are the payment of reasonable wage awards to workers, sufficient crude oil sales in naira to local refineries and the expansion of national petroleum storage capacity to strengthen energy security.
The NLC said such measures would help reduce the immediate burden on Nigerians while creating jobs, generating economic value and addressing emerging security challenges.
It also said government intervention, including subsidies, should not be ruled out in an emergency.
“There is nothing wrong with government subsidising the needs of citizens, especially in emergency situations like this,” Ajaero said.
He added that oil-producing countries were introducing different forms of intervention and palliatives to protect their citizens from the impact of the global energy crisis.
The labour centre further argued that the Federal Government had benefited from higher international crude prices, claiming that crude was selling about $35 to $40 per barrel above the benchmark used in the national budget.
It said the additional revenue could provide fiscal space for measures to protect Nigerians from rising living costs.
The NLC also questioned the reported importation of crude by some local refineries, saying the development undermined efforts to build domestic refining capacity.
“On a long-term basis, we are equally concerned that local refineries are importing crude. This is unreasonable and unacceptable and defeats the logic and purpose of local capacity,” the statement said.
The latest petrol price increases come amid continued volatility in the downstream petroleum market. Reports on Wednesday indicated that some NNPCL outlets in Abuja and other locations were selling petrol for up to ₦1,430 per litre, while prices varied across locations.
The NLC said the Federal Government needed to respond quickly instead of allowing workers and other Nigerians to bear the full burden of the price increases.
Ajaero said the government, which he noted was seeking re-election in the coming months, “cannot afford to stand and watch marketers inflict suffering on the citizenry in the name of deregulation.”
“Labour has an obligation to speak out or act accordingly,” he added.
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