The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has demanded the immediate reversal of the latest increase in the pump of price of petrol across the country.
The NLC also demanded for the release of all those incarcerated or being prosecuted on the assumption of having participated in the recent protest against hunger and bad governance.
In a statement on Tuesday in Abuja, President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero, said the organised labour feels betrayed by the federal government over the clandestine increases in the price of petrol.
Ajaero said labour accepted N70,000 as minimum wage in July due to the government’s promise not to increase the petrol price.
The statement reads: “We are filled with a deep sense of betrayal as the federal government clandestinely increases the pump price of PMS.
“One of the reasons for accepting N70,000 as the national minimum wage was the understanding that the pump price of PMS would not be increased even as we knew that N70,000 was not sufficient.
“We recall vividly when Mr. President gave us the devil’s alternatives to choose from: either N250,000 as minimum wage (subject to the rise of the pump price between N1,500 and N2,000) or N70,000 (at old PMS rates); we opted for the latter because we could not bring ourselves to accept further punishment on Nigerians.
“But here we are, barely one month after and with the government yet to commence payment of the new national minimum wage, confronted by a reality we cannot explain.”
The statement called on the government to reverse the pump price of petrol across the country and retract the 250 percent tariff hike in electricity.
It said the NLC will meet to make appropriate decisions in reaction to the stance of the federal government.
The NLC President said, “On our part, we stand resolute with the people and will neither be distracted nor intimidated by the government or its security agencies.
“We insist that the government cannot criminalise protests or basic rights in the domain of the citizenry.
“Accordingly, we demand the immediate reversal of the latest increase in the pump of PMS across the country, the release of all those incarcerated or being prosecuted on the assumption of having participated in the recent protests; halt the indiscriminate arrest and detention of citizens on trumped-up charges; reversal of the 250% tariff hike in electricity; stop to the hijack of the duties of the ministry of labour and employment; end to policies that engender hunger and insecurity; and halt to government’s culture of terror, fear, and lying.”