The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has warned that any individual or group pushing for the removal of subsidies in Nigeria is putting the country in danger. The outgoing government of President Muhammadu Buhari had left the decision of petrol subsidy removal to the incoming government, but NLC believes that the focus should be on local refining of petroleum products and not subsidy removal. NLC’s General Secretary, Emma Ugboaja, stated that the country needs to focus on production and refining of crude oil in Nigeria.
The Pro-Labour Civil Society Organisations, the Joint Action Front, also opposes neo-liberal policies of privatisation and deregulation, while the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria is not comfortable with the sustenance of petrol subsidy because it stifles investment and growth in the sector. The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria also believes that subsidies will stop once the sector is deregulated in line with the Petroleum Industry ACT.
Punch news
