₦airaland Forum

http://www.punchng.com/fuel-price-hike-fg-meets-labour-today-reps-summon-kachikwu/

The Federal Government has invited the leadership of organised labour to a meeting in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on Monday to discuss the increase of fuel pump price from N86 and N86.50k to N145.

Representatives of organised labour and the civil society had, after a meeting in Abuja on Saturday, given the Federal Government till midnight on Tuesday to reverse the increase or face an indefinite national strike.

The group gave the strike notice in a joint communiqué issued by the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress after the meeting.

The General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, told one of our correspondents on the telephone on Sunday that organised labour had received invitations via text messages from the Ministry of Labour on Sunday to attend the meeting with the government at the office of the SGF.

Ozo-Eson said while organised labour would honour the invitation to attend the meeting, the only thing that could stop the planned action was a reversal of the fuel price increase and the 46 per cent increase in electricity tariff.

He said if the Federal Government failed to reverse the two increases, the government should be prepared to meet Nigerians on the streets.

Ozo-Eson added that the first meeting between organised labour and the Federal Government over the dispute would hold at 3pm on Monday.

He said, “I have received a text message inviting us to a meeting tomorrow (Monday) at the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and we will attend.

‘‘We will attend those meetings but the notice given is not conditional to our action.  It is conditional on the reversal of the hike in the price of petroleum and the hike in electricity tariff.

“But we are saying that is not what is crucial; what is crucial is that we will mobilise unless there is reversal. If there is no reversal, we will meet on the streets.”

Ozo-Eson dismissed the reports attributed to the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, that the increase was necessitated by the scarcity of foreign exchange.

He said it was inconceivable for the government to make an arrangement that would allow the black market exchange rate determine the price of fuel in the country.

He argued that there was nothing new in what Mohammed said as it was part of the presentation by the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, which was rejected by organised labour.

He stated, “The nation does not submit to the pronouncement that the fate of Nigerians will now be determined by black market exchange rate because that is the bottom line of what they are doing.

“There is nothing new in what he is saying; we reject it and the position we are taking is based on part of that information. It changes nothing. It is unacceptable.”

A source in the Ministry of Labour and Employment, who confided in one of our correspondents, said the government was “reaching out to labour.”

The source believed there would be no strike as the Federal Government would make every efforts to ensure that there was dialogue.

“The Federal Government does not want strike, we will discuss. Government is making every effort to ensure that there is no strike,” the source stated.

The Special Adviser to the Minister of Labour and Employment on Media, Mr. Nwachukwu Ngige, said he could not reach the minister for his comment on the issue on Sunday.

But the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties on Sunday warned Nigerians not be deceived again ahead of the planned industrial action by organised labour over the increase in the pump price of petrol.

CNPP also urged Nigerians not to trust the labour unions, alleging that they had been compromised.

It said the planned strike, scheduled for Wednesday, wouldn’t last beyond Friday.

If further alleged that the labour unions were using the strike as a ploy to scuttle genuine actions against the increment in pump price as they did in 2012.

The umbrella body of political parties in Nigeria said these in a statement jointly signed on Sunday by its National Chairman, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, and the Secretary-General, Chief Willy Ezugwu.

The CNPP said, “What the labour unions are doing now by calling for a strike was what they did in 2012 during the Occupy Nigeriaprotests in response to similar increase in the pump price of petrol under former President Goodluck Jonathan.

“The labour unions later scuttled the action by purportedly entering into an agreement with the then government on behalf of Nigerians and ended up fixing the pump price of petrol at N97.00 per litre.

“We have it on good authority that the labour leaders have been compromised.

‘‘Recall that the labour leaders were at a meeting, where the decision to inflict more and more pains on the already impoverished Nigerian people by increasing the pump price was taken and never protested against it. Why the sudden U-turn by the same labour leaders?”

The statement added that the ever increasing hardship enthroned on Nigerians by the current government could not be tolerated.

“The Federal Government and its labour collaborators must be told that the CNPP, the masses and the civil society shall occupy Nigeria until the reversal of the pump price of petrol. Enough of more and more suffering under the guise of fuel subsidy removal,” the statement added.

SHAMHOOD:
http://www.punchng.com/fuel-price-hike-fg-meets-labour-today-reps-summon-kachikwu/

A source in the Ministry of Labour and Employment, who confided in one of our correspondents, said the government was “reaching out to labour.”


“We have it on good authority that the labour leaders have been compromised.
‘‘Recall that the labour leaders were at a meeting, where the decision to inflict more and more pains on the already impoverished Nigerian people by increasing the pump price was taken and never protested against it. Why the sudden U-turn by the same labour leaders?”
The statement added that the ever increasing hardship enthroned on Nigerians by the current government could not be tolerated.

I thought as much!

Abeg make den park well jaree.

You see this strike is bound for maximum failure. Hunger is in the land and no one has strength to walk in this maximum sun

God will definitely enter our matter soonest because only God can save us from these wahala we've found ourselves.

Hmmm SUBCIDY OR NOT; This data wud help u shapen ur myopic view accordin to statistics,Nigerians consumes 33m of PMS daily.accordin to Pms pricing template of may 2016 d landin cost of Pms is 138.1.you shud knw importers have to make margina minimum of 5-10% deal considering d volume of product involve to cover overhead cost n sundry.now dis wil amaze usin N145 benchmark as against N86. There is a differences of N59 which d FG has to pay to d capitalist like femi otedola (forte oil), Adenuga (conoil). BOVAS to mention a few in d names of oil marketers via subsidy claims since nigeria consume 33m daily. IF u open ur critical thinking,it means Nigeria would be paying 59X33,000,000=1,947,000,000 Billion in one year which is over 10% of our annual budget. In otherway, the fund wud've been used 2 provide palliatives,infrastructural projects cum medical care for d citizenry.From d 'handwriting on d wall' dis govt has d wil to cater for Nigerians.all hands are on deck to rescusitate d railway sector ranging from cönstructions of lagos/kano n lagos/calabar which wil inturn reduce d heavy burden on road transport as dese cities are regarded as d most sort-out to n populous cities in d country.it is believed dat wen d target is met i.e producing 30m barrel by our already rehabilitated refineries,their wud be direct diregulations on d price of Pms as great suces was recorded in d communication sector.wailers shud stop dia hulabaloos n betterstil join d intelectuals who knws what d benefits d deregulatiöns wil facilitate..because i stil believe in BUHARI ..'I trust In God' may God guide him through.
#copied

So so meetings this days and no meaningful outcome

Kachikwu don suffer sha! Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown!

the government is corrupt.. but striking is not the best for now... Let's find other ways to address d issue..

Where we're NLC when over 15 states are owing 5 months and above salary...these proposed strike will fail..it will be the worst strike in history......theifing unions

jmichlins:
You see this strike is bound for maximum failure. Hunger is in the land and no one has strength to walk in this maximum sun

what?

ybalogs:
Hmmm SUBCIDY OR NOT; This data wud help u shapen ur myopic view accordin to statistics,Nigerians consumes 33m of PMS daily.accordin to Pms pricing template of may 2016 d landin cost of Pms is 138.1.you shud knw importers have to make margina minimum of 5-10% deal considering d volume of product involve to cover overhead cost n sundry.now dis wil amaze usin N145 benchmark as against N86. There is a differences of N59 which d FG has to pay to d capitalist like femi otedola (forte oil), Adenuga (conoil). BOVAS to mention a few in d names of oil marketers via subsidy claims since nigeria consume 33m daily. IF u open ur critical thinking,it means Nigeria would be paying 59X33,000,000=1,947,000,000 Billion in one year which is over 10% of our annual budget. In otherway, the fund wud've been used 2 provide palliatives,infrastructural projects cum medical care for d citizenry.From d 'handwriting on d wall' dis govt has d wil to cater for Nigerians.all hands are on deck to rescusitate d railway sector ranging from cönstructions of lagos/kano n lagos/calabar which wil inturn reduce d heavy burden on road transport as dese cities are regarded as d most sort-out to n populous cities in d country.it is believed dat wen d target is met i.e producing 30m barrel by our already rehabilitated refineries,their wud be direct diregulations on d price of Pms as great suces was recorded in d communication sector.wailers shud stop dia hulabaloos n betterstil join d intelectuals who knws what d benefits d deregulatiöns wil facilitate..because i stil believe in BUHARI ..'I trust In God' may God guide him through.
#copied

Excellent write up, but they are all assumptions, why dont we use the recovered funds (600 billion in 4 mths, if we add another 8 mths, it wld cater for the infrastructure u mentioned.

1 - with 18k, wld you live to see the infrastructure you are proposing?

2 - with the current inflation in all aspects of life, would 18k take you to the promised land?

3 - subsidy was not removed, pricing was only reviewed to accomodate the parallel market exchange rate.

4 - if dollar goes up to 400 again, it wld have to be reviewed further up.

5 - more concentration on importing that refining ours

Reverse the price of fuel and electricity bills if this government are really sensitive to the plight of the masses not 95 percentage of Nigerians are politicians .

I know this strike wasn't going to hold. Abeg increase minimum wage.

TheNonce:
Kachikwu don suffer sha! Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown!

it would have be easy for ibe, if he had use army on those avengers on time, the blame goes to the army- lack of intelligent report to crack down any economy saboteur.

Luckylife:
Reverse the price of fuel and electricity bills if this government are really sensitive to the plight of the masses not 95 percentage of Nigerians are politicians .

reverse fuel price and sleep on queue for 3days and stil pay 250-300 per litre,pay 145 and get fuel with ease, and also, electricity bill has already be reverse, that is why we are stil darkness, increase the bill and have light

Jesusloveyou:
reverse fuel price and sleep on quene for 3days and stil pay 250-300 per litre,pay 145 and get fuel with ease, and also, electricity bill has already be reverse, that is why we are stil darkness, increase the bill and have light

this is how the masses suffer when people of questionable characters are allow to make insensitive policies in governance.

k