The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has demanded immediate wage awards for Nigerian workers to cushion the impact of rising petrol prices and worsening transportation costs.
Joe Ajaero, NLC president, made the demand in a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday, expressing concern over the steady increase in the price of petrol and its effect on workers and other citizens.
Ajaero said petrol was selling for about ₦1,430 per litre in major urban centres, with prices even higher in less accessible areas.
He said the development had reduced workers’ purchasing power and affected their quality of life, particularly as transportation costs continued to rise.
The NLC president warned that higher transport fares would trigger further increases in the prices of essential goods and services, including food, school fees, rent and tariffs.
“These new costs continue to inflict or deepen poverty among the populace, stressing the quality of life to the limits,” he said.
Ajaero attributed part of the latest petrol price increase to the resurgence of conflict in the Gulf but argued that Nigeria should have mechanisms to protect its citizens from international energy market shocks.
He said Nigeria, as an oil-producing country with abundant fossil resources, should have a buffer against sudden increases in global energy prices.
“As a nation, and as a people endowed with enormous fossil resources, we are deserving of a certain level of protection or buffer against the gales from the Gulf,” Ajaero said.
He urged the Federal Government to immediately introduce reasonable wage awards for workers, make sufficient crude oil available in naira to local refineries and expand the country’s storage capacity.
According to him, the measures would cushion the impact of international market shocks while strengthening energy security, creating jobs and generating additional economic value.
“These measures will create jobs, economic value as well as deal with mutating security challenges,” he said.
Ajaero also defended government intervention through subsidies or palliatives during emergencies that place severe economic pressure on citizens.
“There is nothing wrong with government subsidising the needs of citizens, especially in emergency situations like this,” he said.
He argued that the government could afford such intervention, saying Nigeria was earning between $35 and $40 above its budgeted crude oil price on the international spot market.
According to him, the additional earnings translated into trillions of naira monthly.
Ajaero also criticised the importation of crude oil by local refineries, describing the practice as unreasonable and contrary to the objective of developing domestic refining capacity.
He said increasing petrol prices were placing additional pressure on workers whose incomes were already being eroded by higher transportation and living costs.
The NLC president warned that organised labour would continue to speak out or take action to protect citizens from worsening economic hardship.
