TUC President, Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama

The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria decries the latest round of fuel scarcity in the country. The Congress is pained by this new development and wonders when this constant torture will  become a thing of the past. In fact, by our judgment it appears government has abandoned Nigerians at the mercy of the private depots owners who sell the product above the ex-depot price of N76.50 per litre.

For us, it is bad enough that the N18, 000 (Eighteen thousand naira) national minimum wage has become meaningless in the face of the prevailing economic realities. But worse that almost on a monthly basis Nigerians are made to spend more money on transport fare and purchase of fuel at an exorbitant prices. Nigeria is the sixth oil producing country in the world yet the masses are denied petroleum products. It does not make sense telling the suffering masses about any dislocation in the supply chain of the product. It is not our business!

We have seen a retinue of challenges ranging from dearth of forex, dislocation in the supply chain, the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) challenges, selling of invoice to people who are supposed to import, etc. Unfortunately, they are not the concerns of a driver, barber, hair dresser, etc who wants to daily put food on the table for the family. We may embark on mass protests if the scarcity goes on.  It is instructive to note that the price modulation policy of the federal government is not working. For us it is simply deregulations. And deregulation gives the private sector an edge in price determination. And the private sector is all about profit making, which is exactly what we are experiencing now. They hoard and sell selectively to consumers.

The hardship Nigerians are going through now is very serious. Often we have made our positions known on this very issue. We have asked government to resolve crisis in the petroleum sector to stop the importation of refined petroleum products and possibly build more functional refineries.  The Congress is worried why the masses had to always be at the receiving end. Business had been brought to a standstill because of lack of fuel to run operations as most businesses rely on generating sets for electricity.

May we use this opportunity to charge the Federal Government to draw up a blueprint of its policies and firmly work along. Truly, we have forex challenge but we make bold to say that it can be solved if the government and a few cabal want it resolved. The idea of the change mantra the way we see it should be to free the country from the clutches of a few that are manipulating the system, which of course has brought the country to its knee. The pains we bear today are needless if the people in authority are serious and wish to do something positive about it. Make fuel available now!

Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama         Comrade (Barr.) Simeso Amachree

President, TUC                                    Ag. Secretary General, TUC

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