17 December 2015, Abuja – The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Wednesday cautioned President Muhammadu Buhari and Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, over the planned increase in the pump price of petroleum and subsidy removal by the federal government.
Kachikwu at the weekend, had said the price of petrol would return to N97 per litre against the present N87 per litre by January 2016.
NLC President, Mr. Ayuba Wabba, who was speaking at a symposium organised in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the death of Chima Ubani, said Buhari should be wary of the likes of Kachikwu who misled and derailed former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, on the issue of subsidy.
Therefore, Wabba said the congress would meet in its relevant organs as well as hold consultations with civil society and other organisations and professional bodies to discus the way forward.
He said the recent figures disclosed which was stolen by the political elites is enough shock to contend with for a long time.
The NLC boss also called for the extension of the anti corruption war to both states and local governments as well as other strata to unravel the huge funds stolen from the nations’ treasury.
“The NLC wishes to state that Kachikwu represents the same forces that have misled past governments on issue of removal of subsidy and deregulation of the downstream operations of the petroleum industry.
“The position of the congress on the issues clearly remains unchanged, we make bold to however caution President Buhari to be wary of the likes of Kachikwu whose sweet tongue on the issue of subsidy removal had derailed former presidents from achieving their lofty goals.”
Convener of the symposium for the late Ubani, John Odah, eulogised the legacies of Ubani, particularly in holding leaders accountable.
Odah stressed that union members across board must strive hard to ensure that the aspirations of Ubani remain alive.
Also speaking, the founding President of NLC, Ali Ciroma, lamented a situation where politicians stole billions of dollars, while pensioners are being owed several months.
Ciroma further decried that as a pioneer president of the congress, he has not been paid over 13 months of his pensions.
The guest speaker at the event, Dr Ogaga Ifodowo, bemoaned the deterioration of activism among students and other social groups around the country.
Ifodowo also blamed President Olusegun Obasanjo over the dwindling fortunes of Nigeria, arguing that the former president is the architect of Nigeria’s current predicament.
- This Day
