By Godfrey AKON
The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has commenced mobilisation of its members for mass protest against Federal Government’s plan to remove subsidy, which would inevitably, lead to increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, popularly known as fuel.
Chairman, FCT chapter of NLC, Comrade Alhassan Yakub, said the Union has directed market women, students and professional bodies to come out en mass on Thursday to protest against the planned increase in price of PMS from N162 per litre to N304 per litter.
Yakub spoke in Abuja while holding a meeting with civil society organisations as part of mobilisation for the planned rally.
The union chairman described the proposed increment as an “unpopular, obnoxious, satanic and anti people” policy.
According to him, NLC and her civil society allies across the 36 states of the federation and FCT would observe the rally on 27th January 2022, while that of the National would be in Abuja which is the grand finale on 2nd February 2022.
“We urge Nigerians to support the activities of NLC and civil society organisations for the forthcoming protest rally against federal government’s planned increase in price of PMS from 162 Naira to 304.
“This is to sensitise Nigerians that these policies are obnoxious. These policies are anti people. These policies are Satanic. Therefore, we need to resist it with all our power to make sure that it doesn’t come to pass and Nigerians are not taking for granted,” he said.
The union leader lamented that the policy would bring hardship on Nigerians, adding that most states governments were yet to implement the N30.000 minimum wage signed into law in 2019.
Yakub warned that further increase in petroleum products would lead to more hardship for workers and Nigerians.
“You can imagine as workers that it took a lot of debate, persuasions, to even get the N30, 000 Minimum wage which was signed into law in 2019, but most States as we speak today have not implemented and now you want to increase that hardship by increasing the pump price of PMS which will cascade into other hardship.
“This is because market women need to transport their goods to the market from wherever they buy thereby making the prices of goods skyrocket. There is no doubt that price of groceries will increase.
“Virtually everything is tied to this PMS Therefore, we said no to this kind of situations and so we are going to mobilise Nigerians in their numbers across the 36 of the Federation and the FCT to rise against this kind of obnoxious policies.
“So we call on Nigerians, those in the market, those in schools to come out on the 27th January 2022 across 36 states of the federation and on the 2nd of February 2022 in Abuja for grand finale to march against these policies for government not take us for a ride,” he said
Speaking on behalf of the Civil Society groups, Comrade Jaye Geskiya, said Nigerians would not accept anything less than the status quo.
Geskiya accused government of insincerity about reasons being advanced for the increment.
