The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has addressed rumours regarding an imminent protest against the removal of the Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS) subsidy, which has resulted in a surge in fuel prices.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that the clarification comes shortly after an unfruitful meeting between the NLC and the Federal Government (FG) on Wednesday at Abuja’s State House.
Joe Ajaero, the chairman of the Congress, expressed the NLC’s outrage over the “reckless price increase” expected to inflict severe hardships on ordinary Nigerians.
However, he stated that no protests are scheduled at this time.
In a statement released on Thursday by Benson Upah, the Head of Information Unit for the Congress, Ajaero refuted reports claiming that the organised labour had planned a protest for Friday.
Ajaero declared, “The Nigeria Labour Congress has been made aware of circulating social media stories asserting that the union intends to commence protest action on Friday, June 2nd, in response to the hike in PMS pump prices. While we are deeply disturbed by this thoughtless price surge, designed to inflict untold suffering on ordinary Nigerians, we currently have no intentions to initiate any action on Friday.”
He further explained, “Our immediate plans involve holding organisational meetings on Friday, June 2nd, 2023, to discuss the issue of prices. In view of this, we urge the public to disregard these stories, as they did not originate from the Congress.”
The organised labour assured the public that it would keep Nigerians informed about its subsequent course of action following the Friday meeting regarding the subsidy removal.
It is worth recalling that during his inauguration on Monday, President Bola Tinubu declared the end of the fuel subsidy era.
