The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Joe Ajaero, has called on the Nigerian government to create a buffer by immediately issuing reasonable wage awards to workers.
Ajaero also urged the Nigerian government to sell sufficient crude in naira to local refineries, expand national storage capacity in pursuance of meeting energy emergencies and security.
He made the call in reaction to the hike in the pump price of fuel to 1,430.
In a statement he signed, the NLC president said the increment calls for “serious concerns.”
According to Ajaero, the buffers would create jobs, economic value as well as deal with mutating security challenges.
He said: “We are really worried about the increasing cost of petrol prices throughout the country.
“In big cities where you can easily get petrol, the cost is around N1,430. In harder-to-reach places, the cost is even higher.
“This has caused huge harm not just to wages but also to how we feel as a people and as a nation. When transportation costs increase, it affects many other things too, like school fees, rent, import taxes, and the prices of food and other basic items.
“These new costs are making or worsening poverty for people, pushing their quality of life to the edge. This new increase happens when the government’s efforts to push marketers to lower pump prices to match international crude oil prices were starting to show results.
“As part of creating this buffer, we ask the government to quickly provide fair wages to workers; sell enough crude oil in Naira to our local refineries; and increase our national storage capacity to handle energy emergencies and ensure security.
“These steps will help create jobs, add value to the economy, and handle changing security issues.”
