‘Nigerians are being punished unnecessarily’ — NLC reacts to petrol price hike

Joe Ajaero, president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), says Nigerians are being deceived on the issue of petrol pricing.

Speaking on Politics Today, a Channels TV programme, Ajaero said the masses are being punished unnecessarily.

TheCable had reported that the product’s pump price surged to N617 per litre in the federal capital territory (FCT) and N568 a litre in Lagos.

According to Ajaero, the President Bola Tinubu administration is toying with Nigerians, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) is only being clever by half.

“NNPCL cannot import and say the commodity is imported by marketers, that is not true,” he said.

“If the government withdrew subsidies of petroleum products and suddenly, while we are about to start committee meetings, there is another price increase, why then will government seek a court injunction and use other measures if it is not their business?

“It seems we have entered a reign where Nigerians are being punished unnecessarily and where lies are coming up everywhere.

“If you have a single market where everybody must change dollars at N800/$1, you removed the market where people were changing dollars at N450 to import, it means the very moment that dollar value increases to even N900/N1000, you will tell us that you imported it at current value.

“Despite the fact that the products you have now are not the ones that were imported under N800/$.

“Clearly, the government is toying with Nigerians. What is happening is not economics, but a reign of impunity.”

On May 29, President Bola Tinubu announced that “petrol subsidy is gone” — a pronouncement which immediately led to a hike in the pump price of the product across the country.

Subsequently, NNPCL increased the price of petrol at its retail outlets, with independent marketers following suit.

TheCable had reported that transport costs soared by over 100 percent in the wake of the president’s inaugural speech.