The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) issued a stern warning to the Federal Government, vehemently opposing the World Bank’s suggested increase in Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) prices to N750/litre.
In an interview with The PUNCH, Benson Upah, NLC’s Head of Information, cautioned that any hike in petrol prices could lead to nationwide chaos.
Upah urged the government to reject the World Bank’s proposal, highlighting the potential societal turmoil resulting from the current rates hovering between N620 and N650/litre.
His words: “The World Bank is globalist north in thoughts and actions and has little or no consideration for the global south. It is a predatory institution that the global north uses to justify its crimes against the south.
“It is almost single-handedly responsible for the ruination of the economies of countries of the global south for which it prescribes one solution for all ailments.
“It does not care what happens to Nigeria or Nigerians so it could from its perch in Washington, say whatever it likes or push around our leaders like house helps.
“The truth, however, remains that the present regime of the pump price of PMS has all but destroyed the country. To now ask the government to raise it to N750/litre is to invite anarchy upon the land.
“The World Bank is so hypocritical it fails to see the nexus between price and capacity. The minimum wage in Nigeria for a privileged few is N30,000. The same minimum wage in the United States, where the law is enforced is N1.5m.
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“In light of this, if the government knows what is good for it, it should ignore the World Bank but must remain committed to fighting inherent corruption in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry. It must also cut down the high cost of governance.”
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