It said that it was an aberration that the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited was fixing fuel prices in a so-called deregulated sector.
According to the NLC, the federal government led by President Bola Tinubu should immediately reverse the latest hike in petrol price, as previous increases did not produce any positive result.
In a statement by its President, Joe Ajaero, the NLC contended that following the logic of market forces, it is an aberration that a private company (NNPCL) is the one fixing prices and projecting itself as a hegemonic monopoly.
The statement entitled “What next after increase in pump price?” reads, “We are dismayed by the latest increase in the pump price of petrol. It looks like the only thing this government is known for is the increase in the pump price of petrol without commensurate capacity of Nigerians or mitigatory measures.
“It needs no stating the fact that the latest wave of increase has grossly altered the calculations of Nigerians once again at a time they were reluctantly coming to terms with their new realities. It will further deepen poverty as production capacities dip, and more jobs lost with multidimensional negative effects.
“In light of this, we urge the government to immediately reverse this rate hike as previous increases did not produce any good results.
“People only got poorer.lll But more fundamentally, the government should be bold enough to tell Nigerians in advance the destination it wants to take the country.”
