The Nigeria Labour Congress says it will
declare a one-day national warning strike over the refusal of the
Federal Government to reduce the electricity tariff.
NLC President Ayuba Wabba said this
while addressing newsmen during the Central Working Committee meeting of
the congress on Wednesday in Abuja.
On January 29, the NLC led the picketing
of electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) nationwide, the Nigeria
Electricity Regulatory Commission, and the National Assembly.
The action, aimed at getting the Federal Government to reverse the 45 per cent tariff hike did not yield the desired result.
Wabba insisted that the tariff increase
was “illegal, unfair, unjustifiable and an exploitation of the already
exploited Nigerians.
“The privatisation of the power sector
was done in bad faith and it has become obvious that the investors did
not have the capacity to improve power generation and supply in the
country.
“The CWC will agree on a day to embark
on the strike, because several actions promised by the Federal
Government to checkmate the tariff increment have not been implemented.”
He also noted that the current fuel scarcity in the country had brought untold hardship to workers and Nigerians as a whole.
“We must, however, make the point that
spells of scarcity will not be acceptable to Labour and other Nigerians
because the human and economic costs are unimaginable.
“We have been patient with this
government but this persistent scarcity and suffering of our people will
no longer be tolerated.”
The NLC president also frowned at the
failure of the government to constitute the board of the Petroleum
Products Pricing Regulatory Agency.
He said that no individual had the right to fix the prices of petroleum products.
“We demand the constitution of the board
of NNPC and PPPRA. The latter is a 26-man board vested with powers of
regulating prices of petroleum products. Today, it is a one-man show.”
On the economy, Wabba noted that Nigerians were groaning under harsh economic conditions.
He urged President Muhammadu Buhari to take urgent steps to implement the budget.
“Government must consult more widely and come up with an enduring solution, Wabba said.”
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