REMOVAL OF OIL SUBSIDY,LABOUR SET FOR NATIONWIDE STRIKE

Posted by Lateef Lawal
The Federal Government has despite the unpopularity of its subsidy removal, today finally unsubsidised sale of petroleum products.

To this effect, a liter of petrol now sells for a minimum of N140 per liter and as high as N160 and N180 per liter in some parts of the country as against the previous pump price of N65 per liter.

The introduction of subsidy removal in the first day of the new has widely been condemned by a large section of Nigeria who harped their condemnation on the insensitivity of the government in making the festive period a hardship season for the populace.

The organised labour and its affiliates have called for an urgent meeting tomorrow in Abuja, the Federal Capital for the next line of action which is likely to result in total general strike in both public and private sector of the nation's economy while the civil society organisations are set to begin an instant protest tomorrow-Tuesday,3,January,2012 against the subsidy removal, more so when the National Assembly has not given its nod to the executive on the issue at stake.

The Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress have roundly condemned the government's action and called on all Nigerians and especially transporters to reject the new pump fuel price because of its domino effect on the socio-economic aspects of Nigerians on prices of food items, transport fares for workers,school children,marketers and varied aspects of the day-to-day aspects of Nigerians.

One of the public commentators,Mr Francis Ayigbe has this to say on the latest development:

"The Federal Government has said that it spends N1.3 trillion Naira annually on fuel subsidies. One is obliged to ask: How much does it to cost to build new refineries or repair and bring the existing ones to full production, in order to avert impending hardship that will be inflicted on Nigerians when petroleum products are no longer subsidized?

Astonishingly, the federal government, under Jonathan, seems to ignore the spiral inflation that that single act will cause on the already impoverished population, with low income, as well as the Naira that has lost much of its value at the international exchange.

If the president doesn't understand the woes that will follow the fuel subsidy removal, then one can reasonably affirm that he does not have the welfare of the masses at heart. This is because the resulting high cost of fuel will be felt on all sectors of the economy - transportation fare, housing, foodstuff, school fees.

Those in the various arms of the governement who earn millions of Naira a month plus allowances that run also in millions will never feel the bites even if 1 liter of petrol costs N500. Yet, those are the very people who should think of the global impact of fuel subsidy removal on the minimum wage-earners - workers who take home N18'000 per month to feed the family, pay rent and discharge other recurrent obligations. The presidency and the legislature won't understand this because their revenue situation is impermeable to inflation.

I hope that President Jonathan understands that by removing the fuel subsidy, the fresh air he promised during his election campaigns has turned sour. This could be the last straw in a country where the security situation is grim. When, in the coming days, the impact of hyper inflation begins to be felt all over the country, the president will understand that he has scored yet another low mark, as he globally has, so far."