NLC declares national protests, reveals date

National Executive Council (NEC) of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has decided to hold a national protest on February 1, 2022, against the planned removal of fuel subsidy, Top Naija reports

The decision was contained in a communique issued in Abuja on Friday and signed by the NLC President,  Ayuba Wabba and General Secretary, Mr Emmanuel Ugboaja, following their NEC meeting.

The NLC noted that before the national protest, the Labour union would hold protest rallies in all the 36 States of Nigeria on January 27 against the subsidy removal.

The communique added that the removal of the fuel subsidy would expose Nigerian workers and the citizenry to acute deprivation and worsen the hyper-inflation trend in Nigeria.

It said, “The NEC, therefore, resolved to reject and resist the planned increase in the pump price of petrol by the Federal Government, as it’s extremely insensitive to the acute hardship being experienced by Nigerian workers and people.

” Pursuant to its rejection and resistance to further increase in the price of petrol, we are to organize protest rallies in all the 36 States of the Federation on January 27, 2022.

“This would culminate in the submission of protest letters to all the 36 State Governors. Subsequently, a National Protest will take place on February 1, 2022, in Abuja.

“In case the government decides to announce new petrol prices before the proposed protests, the protest will kick-off instantly and without any further notice in every state of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.”

The NLC also urged the Federal Government of Nigeria to promote the local capacity to refine petroleum products for domestic use.

One of the strongest protest of the NLC can be traced to January 2012 during the President Goodluck Jonathan administration. The president and his economic team had argued that fuel subsidy payments was making the country lose billions of naira and it will save around “£4.2bn annually to invest in underperforming refineries that have forced Nigeria to import its own oil once it has been refined”