The Nigeria Labour Congress President, Joe Ajaero, has expressed strong disapproval of the recent increase in fuel pump prices by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited calling into question the authority of a registered private company to set fuel prices for the country.
Ajaero’s criticism came in response to the NNPCL’s decision to raise the retail price of petrol from N897 to N1,030 per litre at some of its retail outlets within the Federal Capital Territory.
This latest hike, representing a 14.8 percent or N133 increase, marks the second such adjustment in just over a month.
The initial rise saw prices jump from N617 to N897 per litre in September.
Addressing this development, Ajaero also voiced dissatisfaction with the Bola Tinubu administration’s failure to implement its Compressed Natural Gas initiative, which was launched over a year ago as part of efforts to cushion the impact of fuel price hikes.
The NLC President further highlighted the ongoing delay in the commencement of operations at the Port Harcourt refinery, despite the existence of agreements between the federal government, the NLC, and the Trade Union Congress.
Ajaero’s remarks were made during his address at the launch of ‘The Tripartite: Understanding the Interplay between Workers, Employers and Government, a book authored by Sharon Ijasan, in Abuja on Wednesday.
Reflecting on the fuel price increase, he said: “As we are sitting down here, they have gone to increase the pump price of petroleum again. Now what do you do in such instances? They expect us to buy it. Even things we have been asking for, CNG as an alternative, for more than one year, we have been asking for the commencement of work at the Port Harcourt refinery, we had an agreement to that effect – NLC, TUC, and the federal government.”
He also raised concerns over the rising prices, even with the announcement that the Dangote Refinery had begun local production.
According to Ajaero, this development contradicts the justifications given by the federal government for deregulating the fuel sector.
He added, “We have heard that Dangote Refinery is producing locally and prices are going up. All the indices they gave to us about the need to deregulate have proven negative. You are fixing prices as a private company. As far as I’m concerned, except something has happened to CAC, NNPCL is now a private company. Can that same NNPCL dictate the price for Dangote and other private companies? Those are issues, those are questions begging for answers.”
Ajaero went on to highlight the impact of inflation on the recently agreed N70,000 minimum wage, which was introduced to provide some relief for workers amid the rising cost of living.
He questioned the value of the minimum wage, given the current economic conditions.
“And all these discussions are hovering around the N70,000 minimum wage. What is the level of inflation between the time we signed the N70,000 minimum wage and now? Those are the issues that will bother us for the next few days in this country,” Ajaero said.
He concluded by calling for a collective response from Nigerians, particularly the labor movement, to protest the continuous fuel price hikes.
“Nigerians are expecting the labour movement to react to this hike. If we can get some naira or are unable to get it, only workers will benefit from that. What I think Nigerians should do is to mobilise and react as a collective,” he stated.
In a separate interaction with the press, Ajaero also urged the National Assembly to provide clarity on the scope of the N70,000 minimum wage agreement, pointing out that while the amount and the review period had been agreed upon, a clear definition of who the wage covers remains outstanding.
