ABUJA – The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and NGOs have [pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″]commended the Federal Government for the N10 reduction in the pump price of petrol.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Dezieani [pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″]Madueke, announced the reduction which is expected to bring down the pump price of fuel to N87 per litre from N97 per litre.
The NLC, Secretary-General, Dr Peter Ozo-Eson, in an interview with NAN, in Abuja described the [pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″]development as commendable but said it was long overdue.
He said that Labour had called for the downward review of the pump price due to the sharp fall in the price of crude oil in the international market.
“We had said it in the past that Nigerians were being cheated because the price of petrol ought to have come down due to the fall in international market.
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“The benefits should have been passed on but it remained high; we commend the Federal Government for the reduction.
“The adjustment done yesterday is welcome but it is our view that it does not fully reflect the magnitude of the fall in the price of crude.
“In many countries, the pump price has fallen by more than one third since the fall of the price of crude,’’ he said.
According to him, the price of petrol in the U.S. had reduced from three dollars to less than two dollars, noting that many other countries have done same.
Ozo-Eson urged the Petroleum Pump Price Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) board to review the N10 reduction to reflect the true situation in the international market.
Also commenting, Bobboi Kaigama, the President, Trade Union Congress (TUC), called for a second downward review of the fuel pump price, to enable Nigerian workers to enjoy succour from the present economic situation.
“We commend the government for taking the initiative; this was like in the late President Yar’Adua’s administration when Nigerians enjoyed a reduction in fuel pump price.
“We urge them to do more, considering the fall in oil price in the international market and the inflation in the Nigerian economy,’’ Kaigama said.
In a separate interview, Mr Ezenwa Nwagwu, the Convener, Say No Campaign Nigeria, an NGO, also described the decision by Federal Government as commendable as it was in line with the expectation of workers.
Nwagwu noted that other OPEC member countries dropped their petrol price as soon as there was crash in crude oil market.
He said that Nigerians were happy about the development and called for more price reduction. (NAN)