Abuja, July 19 ( Mediaage NG) – Nigerian Labour unions have threatened to withdraw from negotiations with the government, unless the recent hike in fuel prices across the country are reversed.
Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress are accusing the government of “taking from the poor to pay the rich, and unleashing suffering, hardship and sorrow on Nigerians”.
Petrol prices hit the highest point ever on Tuesday to about 640 naira ($0.82; £0.64) per litre and caused uproar across the nation.
Transport costs and food prices is sure going, as has been recorded since May, after President Bola Tinubu announced an end to fuel subsidies during his inauguration speech.
The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC) said the new price increase was caused by market forces.
In a separate development, the country’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered a review of the ₦8,000 ($10) (£8) the government plans to pay 12 million poor households to cope with rising costs.
The payment, for six months, was to cushion the effects of removing the fuel subsidy. However, there’s been widespread criticism that the money may likely end up in the pockets of government cronies.
