Osamagbe Imadiyi
The most recent increase in the price of gasoline at the pump, according to organized labor, is driving Nigerians to the breaking point.The Federal Government was also cautioned against what it called a “surprised and unexpected reaction” by the public to the product’s frequent price increases.
Asserting that even a goat can bite when pushed to the limit, Labour also cautioned the government against the silence of Nigerians amid the terrible suffering and misery they are experiencing.
This comes as the Chemical and Non-Metallic Products Employer’s Federation, or CANMPEF, an employer group, claimed that the removal of subsidies had caused the price of gasoline to rise, increasing the cost of production and transportation, and decreasing household income and purchasing power.
Labour issued the warning on the same day that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, or NNPCL, received N40 billion from its members, who had to wait days to load gasoline from the Dangote Refinery in Lagos, according to the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, or IPMAN.
If marketers were permitted to purchase directly from the refinery, it was also stated that Nigerians could pay less for the product.
On condition of anonymity, one of the labor leaders who was present at the October 16 meeting with the Federal Government at the Secretary to the Government of Federation’s office told Vanguard that the government is progressively inciting the populace to rebel against the status quo.
He stated: “After our meeting on October 16, where we made the government representatives, led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, understand the level of frustration, hunger, misery, and general restiveness across the country, we had assumed that the Federal Government would stop the ongoing increase in the price of gasoline at the pump.”
Sincerely, we believed that the government would pause the increases and give the populace some breathing room. Nigerians are being put to the test by the government. I can attest that the government is driving the populace to the brink.
