By Adeniyi Adedeji, Ilorin
The Kwara State Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has joined its voice to the calls on the Federal Government to reverse the newly announced fuel price hike.
Kwara State NLC Chairman, Alhaji Issa Ore, in a statement in Ilorin, said the reversal should be a matter of urgency.
Besides, Alhaji Ore said all the refineries in the country that had hitherto not been functioning should also be fixed as quickly as possible.
Asserting that the decision of the government to increase pump price of petrol as well as electricity tariff was nothing short of a demonstration of government’s insensitivity to the plight of the masses who are still groaning under the debilitating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, ore said, “The Kwara NLC on behalf of over 42 affiliated unions both in public and private sectors wishes to join its national body to condemn the Federal Government’s inhuman act over the sudden increase in the pump price of petrol and electricity tariff.
“We demand that our four petroleum refineries be fixed without any further delay as a way to stop the persistent importation of refined petroleum products.”
The state NLC also made a passionate appeal to the governor of the state, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, to expedite action on the signing of the collective agreement reached on the National Minimum Wage.
The gesture, according to Ore, would pave way for its implementation; even as he pointed out that the current ‘amputated’ N18,000 Minimum Wage inherited from the last administration was grossly inadequate, considering the present economic realities in the country.
The NLC chief however, commended the entire workers in the state (both formal and informal sectosr) for their patience, while still waiting for the directive of the national headquarters of the NLC on the next line of action, should the Federal Government fail to rescind its decision.
