The FCT council of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), has called on Abuja residents market men and women, students and other professional bodies to come out en mass to protest against the Federal Government’s planned increase in price of Premium Motor Spirit from N162 per litre to N304, come January, 27, 2022.
The Council Chairman, Comrade Alhassan Yakub, who made this call during the mobilisation meeting with civil society organisations, described the policies as “obnoxious, satanic and anti people.”
Yakub said workers and her civil society allies across the 36 states of the federation would kicks start the protest from 27th January 27, 2022, while that of the Abuja which is the grand finale will hold on February 2, 2022.
“We urge Nigerians to support the activities of NLC and civil society organisations for the forthcoming protest rally against the Federal government’s planned increase in price of PMS from N162 to N304.
“This is to sensitise Nigerians that these policies are obnoxious. These policies are anti people. These policies are Satanic. Therefore, we need to resist it with all our power to make sure that it doesn’t come to pass and Nigerians are not taken for granted,” he said.
Speaking on the hardship the policy would bring on Nigerians, Comrade Yakub said most state governments are not paying the N30,000 minimum wage signed into law in 2019, warning that further increase in petroleum products would lead to more hardship for workers and Nigerians.
“You can imagine as workers that it took a lot of debate, persuasions, to even get the 30,000 minimum wage which was signed into law in 2019, but most states as we speak today have not implemented and now you want to increase that hardship by increasing the pump price of PMS which will cascade into other hardship because market women need to transport their goods to the market from wherever they buy, thereby making the prices of goods skyrocket, prices of groceries will increase.
“Virtually everything is tied to these petroleum products. Therefore, we say no to this kind of situation and so we are going to mobilise Nigerians in millions across the 36 states of the federation and the FCT to rise against this kind of obnoxious policies.
“We call on Nigerians; those in the market, those in schools to come out on January 27, 2022 across 36 states of the federation and on February 2, 2022 in Abuja for the grand finale to match against these policies so that the government does not take us for a ride.”
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