Organised labour operating under the big umbrella of the Nigeria Labour Congress rose from a meeting on Friday with a resolve to embark on a nationwide industrial action next Wednesday, if the federal government failed to revert the pricing template of the Premium Motor Spirit also known as Petrol, to its old price.

This follows the deadlock of a meeting between the Labour Congress and the federal government on Wednesday and the refusal of labour to return to the negotiating table as earlier proposed by the government.

Organised labour after a meeting of its National Executive Committee said it has already commenced the process of mobilising its members ahead of the planned industrial action.

Comrade Joe Ajaero, NLC President

“The NLC decided that if by Wednesday next week the NNPCL, a private limited liability company, that illegally announced a price regime in the oil sector, refuses to announce revert itself for negotiation to continue, that the NLC and all its affiliates, will withdraw their services and commence protests nationwide until this is complied with.

Briefing journalists at the end of NLC’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting on Friday, Comrade Joe Ajaero, the president, said the union had agreed on a nationwide strike. The NEC in session directed that the leadership of NLC should be cautious of negotiations with people without portfolios.”

“It is destructive and until the government is properly constructed and the people who will negotiate with Labour are people with mandate and capacity to convince the government of the day such negotiations may not be valid wherever.

“Consequently the NLC decided that if by Wednesday next week, the NNPCL, a private limited liability company that illegally announced a price regime in the oil sector refuses to reverse, the NLC and all its affiliates will withdraw their services and commence protest nationwide until this is complied with and that NNPC.

“The NLC NEC directs all state councils and industrial unions to commence mobilization from this moment.”

The NLC believes that “The NNPCL doesn’t have the monopoly to act illegally even as a private company. The NLC NEC, therefore, directed all state councils and all industrial unions to commence mobilisation from this moment on to make sure that this action is enforced. The action has commenced at this moment”,

Nigeria’s president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in his inaugural address declared that “fuel subsidy is gone”. Subsequently, Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited announced a new pricing structure for its outlets, causing fuel scarcity and hike in fuel prices across the country.

In response to the development, the Labour Congress issued a warning to the NNPC in Abuja following its National Executive Committee meeting, noting that it would instruct its members to stop providing services if the fuel price is not restored to its previous level.

The last popular action by organised labour was the picketing of CBN offices nationwide following acute scarcity of Naira aftermath of a Naira swap policy by the CBN.

It would be recalled that similar nationwide protests greeted proposals to remove fuel subsidy under President Goodluck Jonathan in 2012. The government was forced to backdown on the removal and reverted to old selling price of the product.